Mything Pieces
by Tylluan
Summary: When PC Andy is called to the National Museum for what appears to be a murder in one of the museum exhibits, he knows that his first call will be to the Torchwood team. Jack, Gwen and Ianto find themselves chasing a cult around Wales in a desperate attempt to stop them from raising an ancient deity that could destroy their world in the process...
1. Chapter 1

Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones were just walking away from their favorite fish and chips place when Gwen's mobile rang. She had been busy taking a hot chip out of the bag that Ianto carried and blew on it to cool it down.

'Are you going to get that?' Ianto asked, amused that she looked torn between eating the chip while it was hot and answering her mobile. She finally took a bite just as it was breaking in half in her hand and opened her mobile. Glancing quickly at the display, she brought it up to her ear.

'Andy,' she said, although to Ianto it sounded more like Amphy. Ianto shook his head at her manners and she rolled her eyes at him. They kept on strolling back towards the tourist centre entrance to the Torchwood Hub.

'Gwen, is that you?' PC Andy asked, pressing a finger in his other ear to minimize the noise around him. Several PCs were stretching tape to cordon off a room behind him. He took a few steps away from them in the hopes of being able to hear better, his long legs taking him halfway across the room. 'Gwen?'

Gwen quickly swallowed the bite in her mouth, wincing as it burned her throat. 'Andy, it's me. What's the matter?'

'I've got one of your weird ones here, Gwen. Can you come to the National Museum?' He asked.

'What, now?' She paused in the act of walking and Ianto had to stop after a few strides when he realized she wasn't accompanying him. 'What do you have?'

'It's kind of hard to explain. Better if you can just come round. Can you do that now? It's important,' Andy replied. He wasn't sure whether his superiors would be happy or angry with him for pulling the Torchwood Institute into the investigation, but the feeling in his gut told him that this was something they couldn't handle on their own. Gwen look at Ianto while she considered what they had going on at the Hub.

'Could do, if you think it's important,' she said. Ianto lifted a brow in enquiry and she held up a finger to forestall him.

'I do, Gwen. We need you,' Andy replied. She agreed to come over as soon as she picked up some stuff from her office before heading over. She caught up to where Ianto was and reached in for another chip. She had a feeling that if she didn't eat now, she wouldn't get a meal for several hours, judging by the tone of Andy's voice.

'That was Andy,' she said, reaching in for a piece of fish and munching on it while gesturing that they should continue.

'I got that much. What did he want?' Ianto asked. He had been refraining from eating until they were back at the Hub, but Gwen digging into the bag had released a smell that was making his stomach growl. He caved in and took some chips out to eat as they walked.

'He didn't say but mentioned that there was something happening at the National Museum and that he wanted me to come. I'm taking that it is a Torchwood issue, so let's grab our kit and head on over.' She stole another chip out of the bag after Ianto had taken his hand out of it.

'Let's get the usual and take a look then. Jack's going to be gone for a while, so we can set the rift monitor on standby and be back to the Hub if something triggers it. My car or yours?' Ianto asked as Jack had taken the SUV with him.

'Yours, it's more comfortable,' Gwen said with a nod. They were back on Roald Dahl Plass and together they made their way to the tourist office entrance.

'If I'm driving, you had better finish this. No food in the car,' Ianto warned her. She took the bag out of his hands and kept on eating. He took a key out of his waistcoat pocket to open the office and they ducked through the door, locking it before anyone thought that it was open. Keeping the lights off, he triggered the button under the counter that would open the hidden wall door, giving them access down to their secret base underground. Within ten minutes they were off in the direction of the museum for their meeting with Andy.

They made good time to Cathays Park, pulling in behind a police car that was parked out front. Ianto put a Torchwood placard on the dashboard and they both got out of the car. Gwen nodded to the two police constables standing near the entrance as she waited for Ianto to pull a bag and a large case out of the back seat and follow her up the stairs.

'This way,' she said, indicating the entrance. When they went through the doors, a large number of people were milling about, but the two passed through them quickly. Gwen had spotted Andy up on the second floor landing and she quickly made her way up the stairs, Ianto a heartbeat behind her.

'Andy, whatcha got?' She asked. PC Andy Davidson was wearing his standard issued constable uniform, his hat covering his curly blond hair. He nodded to Ianto and indicated a corridor off to the left.

'Down this way. I'm glad you were able to come so quickly. And I'll tell you that this is an odd one,' he said, leading the way down the hallway. 'You need to see this for yourselves.'

'What is it?' Gwen asked, her brow furrowed as she stretched her legs to catch up to Andy's stride, her boot heels clicking against the marble floor. Silently she cursed the fact that she was so short and had to work with tall men. Life just wasn't fair.

'I can't really explain it. It, erm, defies description,' Andy replied, taking a right down another hallway. Ianto noticed that they were headed towards the Origins exhibit. He had been to the museum a few times as a child, usually bored out of his mind once they got to the collections like the Davies sisters. He was glad that they weren't headed in the fine arts direction, but towards the Welsh history area. That had always been what he found most fascinating when he had come to visit. He shook his head to clear his reverie and turned to listen as Andy continued.

'Let's just say we have a body you need to look at.' He pressed his lips together and refused to say more, even though Gwen kept on urging him for additional details. Ianto followed along silently. If Andy was spooked, it probably was something he wasn't going to be happy to see.

He led them through the outer room of the historical collection and in through a maze of rooms until eventually they passed a police tape marker. The room was full of police personnel milling about. They grew quiet as the two Torchwood operatives entered. Several of the men nodded in grudging acknowledgement with a new respect born from the events of several months prior when Cardiff had been under attack from some sort of terrorists. A pathway opened in the crowd, allowing them access to the last room which was obviously their destination. Two constables guarded the entrance to the room and moved to either side as Andy brought them to the edge of the police tape. Gwen peered over the barrier to look around the room.

'Oh my God,' she gasped softly. Beyond the tape were several suited experts and detectives who were moving about taking notes. In the center of the room was a large stone with a body in an outstretched position on the surface. Blood pooled on the stone, but it was obvious that the body had been there for a while before anyone had found it. Instinctively she moved forward, about to duck under the tape and enter the room. Ianto shot out his arm to restrain her. 'Don't go in there.'

'And why not?' She demanded. She turned look at him but he was staring into the room, his face drained of color. Before he could answer the sound of a shoe scuffing behind them made her turn all the way around to see who was behind them. It was Detective Chief Inspector Aeron James, head of CID for the South Wales Police. He was a tall man with dark hair that was greying at the temples. He focused on Gwen, his pale blue eyes staring at her somberly.

'PC Davidson said this was more up your alley than ours Gwen,' he said with a frown, looping his thumbs into his belt as he stood and faced her. 'Is it?'

'It certainly looks that way Aeron,' Gwen said, her eyes going back to Ianto who was as still as one of the stone statues around them. 'Ianto, what is it?' Her question brought him out of his trance and he moved back a step as if to distance himself from the contents of the next room.

'DCI James, has anyone left this room yet?' Ianto asked, his voice sounding hoarse.

'Yes, some paramedics who arrived on the scene before we got here as well as the PCs who were the first responders. The PCs are over there,' Aeron James said, pointing over to a corner where two men were verbally giving a report to another constable. 'Once they found that the medics weren't needed, they left to head back to hospital.'

'You need to bring them back as soon as possible,' Ianto said with an urgent tone in his voice. 'This is extremely important.'

'Why?' The detective asked, not seeing the point for why they would be needed, but it was obvious that the Torchwood agent was agitated over his news. He still wasn't sure that pulling Torchwood into this investigation was a good idea, but he knew that what they had found was more than it seemed. 'Not much they can do for the poor bugger.'

'Please ask them to return. Their lives depend on it,' Ianto replied. He turned away and knelt down to open the case he had brought with him. Gwen shrugged at the DCI when he looked at her questioningly.

'Aeron, please do as Ianto asks. He obviously has a good reason for doing so,' she said. She watched as Ianto pulled items out of the case, opening smaller containers that were stashed inside and muttering softly to himself. He moved onto the bag and rummaged through that, finally finding what he had been looking for. It was a bag with what looked to her to be black sand in it. Standing up again, he moved to the edge of the tape, careful not to cross the line.

'Excuse me, would you please mind staying still for a moment?' Ianto asked politely, his brow furrowed. The men in the room stared at him, but after a nod from their DCI behind him, they stood quietly. 'Thank you.' He opened the bag in his hand and reached into it. Pulling out a handful of the sand-like substance he held his palm up above the level of the tape blocking the door and blew on it.

'Oh!' Gwen exclaimed softly. The sand scattered into the room and drifted down to the floor. As it settled, red lines began to glow where the sand landed. The lines were broken in some areas, while they extended off into other directions before fading as they reached beyond the edge of the sand. Ianto poured some more of the black crystals into his hand and tossed them upwards towards the ceiling. More lines glowed. They formed a jagged arch around the door. Ianto stared intently at the network of lines above before looking down at the floor and ducking under the tape. Carefully he stepped into the area that was left blank between the red lines, angling his body sideways to pass between them as he entered the room.

The police personnel inside the room stayed still. It was obvious from Ianto's movements that he was being extremely careful not to cross any of the red lines. Since they had been moving about the room as part of their investigation, they knew they had unwittingly stumbled into something more than a simple murder.

Ianto paused to pour more of the stand into his hand and gently cast it out in a circle around him. More lines glowed as the sand touched the new areas. In the corners of the room, they intersected with one another, forming an intricate web. In the areas where the police had walked around, those lines were broken, the jagged areas showing clearly about the room. Ianto continued to move cautiously about, scattering more sand as he went. When he got close enough to touch the first police constable in the room, he looked at the man solemnly.

'Please cover your eyes,' he requested softly. Once the man complied, he tossed the sand up in the air, letting it drop softly over the constable. Lines glowed around him, some passing through his body. Ianto ducked under one such line so that he could get to the next man, who was closest to the stone. Again he tossed the sand, getting a similar result as the lines glowed with a steady light around the forensics technician. He followed that movement by casting more sand near the stone, illuminating the web-like markings that spread from the wall behind the technician towards the body on the bed.

'Please stay as still as you can,' he informed them before making his way back towards the other side of the room. He could see the rest of the constables crowding at the doorway behind DCI James and Gwen, all staring with their mouths open. Gwen watched his movements intently, a worried frown on her face.

When he reached the other side of the room, he repeated his request and gestures, the light from the lines glowing luridly as he turned towards the body on the stone. He held out his hand and blew the sand across the body, finishing the network of lines so that they completed an intricate pattern which passed through the body and into the stone below. Ianto turned in a circle and sighed. He tapped the com in his ear.

'Jack, are you headed back yet?' He asked. Several of the constables looked at him in surprise. They didn't have reception for their own communications equipment, but from the intent looks on both of the Torchwood operatives' faces, they obviously were getting a reply in their earpieces.

'Yeah, just finished up and on my way back,' Jack said into their ears. He sounded tired. 'What's up?'

'Jack, we have a problem,' Ianto said, his voice grim.


	2. Chapter 2

'Go on,' Jack Harkness replied, trying to watch his driving as he sped up, heading back towards the city in the Torchwood SUV. He was probably a half hour away. Less, if he triggered the traffic lights as he went. 'Talk to me, Ianto.'

'Does the name Adoliat yr Arglwydes ring a bell?' Ianto asked, his tongue easily forming the Welsh name.

'Oh Hell,' Jack said. Unfortunately, the name held too much meaning for him. 'How bad?'

'Very,' Ianto replied in a grim tone. 'They're back, and they've moved a bit beyond their normal MO. I have a stone from what looks to be from Llangernyw or a similar site at the National Museum with a body on it. We have signs of the same sort of ritual from before, but far worse than we've seen in the past. I'm going to need your help. How soon can you get here?'

'Twenty minutes,' Jack said, hitting a switch on the dash which would give him emergency access routing through the traffic. Another button activated the running lights on the outside of the vehicle. He increased his speed, dodging around the cars in front of him. Horns blared in response to his reckless moves.

'Make it thirty and drop by the Hub. I need you to pick something up for me from the archives,' Ianto replied. Jack acknowledged the request, saying he would be back in touch once he reached the Hub before signing off. Ianto ran his hand through his hair before sighing deeply.

'Ianto, can you please explain what's going on?' Gwen asked, concern showing in her face as she observed the tableau in front of her. The constable in the room closest to her was sweating, afraid to move in light of what they all had just witnessed in the last few minutes.

Ianto scrubbed his fingers across his eyes before dropping his hand and looking at Gwen. 'Yes, of course, you wouldn't have heard of this.' He surveyed the room. 'If you can, stay where you are,' he said to the men in the room. 'If you need to, lean against the wall. We're going to have to wait a bit for Captain Harkness to get here with what I need to help you.' He turned towards the door and made his way through the web of lines until he reached the doorway. He ducked under the tape, emerging from the room.

Detective Chief Inspector James and Gwen moved back out of the doorway, allowing him to exit the room. They waited for him to clean the black dust from his hands, watching as he dropped the bag onto the top of the case at his feet. He looked up at the DCI.

'Are the medics on their way back?' At the man's nod he sighed. 'Good. We need to get them here in order have anyone who's been in the room since the ritual was complete on hand. It's the only way we're going to be able to help them.'

'Ianto, what is this?' Gwen asked urgently, reaching out to touch his sleeve. 'What's that name you mentioned? And what is Jack bringing with him?'

'Supplies,' Ianto said, answering her last question first. 'This,' he gestured behind him, 'is the work of a cult. Specifically known as the Adoliat yr Arglwydes . We ran into them before you started with us. It's too much to go into right now, but I will explain it once we have the time.'

'And those red lines?' Gwen asked. She had a feeling she wasn't going to like the story behind this cult once Ianto told her about it. 'What are they?'

'A malevolent shamanic working,' Ianto said, sighing deeply. 'I'll need to do more research to discover which one, but the last time we ran into this, people died until we were able to lift the curse of crossing the lines from them.' He saw the startled look on Gwen and DCI James' faces as well as the more skeptical looks of the police behind them. 'This is very real,' he told them. 'Six people died the last time before we were able to help them. And by comparison, that looks to be far more benign than the working in there. We need to contain this now, before people get hurt.

'And that's why I need to get anyone who entered that room back before too much time has passed. This could go very badly otherwise,' Ianto said. He looked at DCI James. 'Is the curator still about? I need to speak to them.' The detective nodded, looking over to Andy Davidson who was already headed out of the room in search of the person in question.

'So what do we do in the meantime?' One of the detectives from inside the room asked, face pale.

'We wait,' Ianto said.


	3. Chapter 3

PC Andy returned a short time later with an older man who looked to be in his mid sixties. The man stopped short of the doorway, glancing about nervously at all the police personnel who were there. He mopped his face with a handkerchief with a trembling hand. Ianto and Gwen led him over to one side of the central room away from the doorway to the chamber beyond and started to question him. DCI James stood behind them, listening in on the conversation. He wasn't happy with having this interference into his investigation and wanted to be sure that things would be done properly and by the book. Torchwood had a habit of cutting corners that made his teeth ache when he thought about it.

'Dr. Williams, my name is Ianto Jones from the Torchwood Institute. Can you tell me anything about the origins of the stone in that room? Where it came from, and when this exhibit opened?'

'Yes, yes, of course.' The museum curator was wringing his hands, clearly distressed over what had happened. 'I'm not as familiar with this exhibit as I should be since I was on holiday when the installation went in, but that is the Gwernwyddogag standing stone which was near Trecastle. It's on loan from the Brecon Beacon National Park.'

'Oh God,' Gwen said softly, staring into Ianto's eyes as they shared a look with one another.

'Probably a coincidence, though in this job that's hard to believe,' Ianto said in reply. The curator stared at them, unable to follow their exchange. Ianto shook his head to clear the memories of their last trip up to the Brecon Beacon area. Their run in with cannibals had been something that none of them had been able to forget. 'I need to speak with whomever was in charge of the commissioning of this exhibit. The more information I can gather, the better.'

'Oh, well, that would be Dr. Mared Dimock. But unfortunately she is not here at the moment,' Dr. Williams said apologetically. He folded his hands nervously over his waistcoat as he spoke. 'She's off presenting a paper at a conference in Chicago.'

'Does she have anyone who assisted her with this exhibit?' Ianto asked. He was feeling the frustration of not being able to get accurate information. 'Records that we could look at, people who worked on it before it opened?'

'Yes, of course. There's her assistant, Benjamin Daw. I believe he's off today, but I can get you his contact information.' The man was extremely upset at what had happened at his museum, but was determined to be as much of a help as possible.

'Gwen, see to that please?' Ianto asked her. She nodded and continued the interview, knowing what sort of information they would need to pursue this further. Ianto moved away, looking at the other items in the room carefully, trying to see whether anything else was disturbed. He had only moved a few feet when he turned back to where Gwen and the curator were speaking. 'Dr. Williams?'

'Yes, Mr. Jones?' The man turned towards Ianto.

'Can you tell me anything about the construction of this wing? Obviously some reinforcement was necessary to hold the weight of a standing stone such as the one inside. Also, what's above and below this room?' Ianto asked, gesturing to the space behind him.

'Oh, well, let me think. This area is reinforced, certainly. It was done years ago, since this wing was known to be used for these historical displays. I can get you information about what is on the other floors, but it will take some time,' Dr. Williams said as he ran a hand through his hair, leaving white tufts standing up in the process.

'Never mind, it will be faster if I just look myself,' Ianto said. He left them to go back to the bag he had dropped onto the case. Scooping it up, he left the room, not looking at anyone as he did so. An exit door was in the room beyond that and he used it to go down to the floor below. A security guard attempted to stop him from entering, but he brushed past the young man and worked his way towards the back of the building so that he was almost underneath the room with the stone.

'Sorry, sir, but you can't use the stairs,' the young security guard said, still trying to stop him.

'Please don't interrupt,' Ianto said. 'We're investigating a murder.' The young man blanched and stepped away as if Ianto were the killer. Ianto ignored him, examining the room about him. Nodding, he reached into the bag and tossed some of the black sand into the air, ignoring the shocked gasp behind him. Faint red lines appeared in the air, but none of them extended into the room very far. Ianto sighed in relief before turning away and heading back the way he came, leaving the young man he left behind to gape at the glowing red lines that had appeared out of nowhere above his head.

He went back to the stairs and climbed up two levels until he reached the floor above the chamber. Again he made his way through several rooms, his internal sense of direction guiding him to where he needed to be. This space was larger, so he stopped at the edge of the room and tossed the dust out in a circle. It settled lightly on the artifacts in the room, but this time nothing glowed in response. Ianto moved about the room scattering the sand, confirming that he was indeed in the right place. Good, he thought in satisfaction, this made the situation slightly less complicated.

Leaving the black sand behind, he made his way back down to the floor below. Just as he left the stairwell his com crackled with sound.

'Ianto, I'm at the Hub,' Jack said as he got out of the SUV, his greatcoat tailing out behind him as he moved. 'What do you need?'


	4. Chapter 4

Gwen turned from where she was still interviewing the curator. Ianto approached the Detective Chief Inspector, who was still standing behind her listening to the conversation.

'Fantastic,' he said. Jack had made better time than he had hoped. 'Archive room twelve, shelf number four on the left, box seven, nine, two, zed, nine.' He waited, hearing Jack mutter the numbers back. 'No, two zed. Yes.'

'Nothing upstairs, but something below,' he said to Gwen, answering her silent question as they waited for Jack to respond. 'Thankfully, nothing that reached the floor, so we don't have to search for anyone else who might have been inadvertently involved in this.'

'That's a relief,' Gwen said. She could only imagine having to hunt down a tour group who could have accidentally tripped the lines if they had extended below the chamber. She wasn't sure how bad this was, but was willing to trust what Ianto said.

'Can I go now?' The curator asked, mopping his brow with a handkerchief. He was terrified and wanted to get away from the exhibit as far as he could. Gwen nodded and he left, almost running from the room.

'I've got some information, but I think we're going to have to go through the records at some point,' she said to Ianto, who nodded in response. She turned to the man who was still standing behind her. 'Aeron, we may need your help with this. We're pretty shorthanded at the moment, so would it be possible to enlist some of your men to check into this for us?' DCI James nodded. After what he had seen today, it was clearly obvious that the local police were over their heads on this case. While he had his men search the wing for the perpetrators, he never would have considered that his staff could have stumbled into something bigger by walking around the other floors. He felt extremely uneasy about this murder the more he found out about it.

'Got it!' Jack's voice exclaimed in their earpieces as he emerged from the Torchwood archives.

'Read me the numbers again?' Ianto requested. Not that he thought that Jack had grabbed the wrong one, but they didn't have time to go back if he had. Jack read out the numbers and he nodded to confirm them. 'That's it. Please bring it to us here at the museum. PC Davidson will bring you in.' Andy was standing off to one side and nodded. He turned and left, heading back out to the street entrance to meet Jack. No one questioned Ianto's orders or resented the Torchwood team's assumption of command at the moment. There were all unnerved by what they had seen so far.

Ianto moved over to where he had left the case and the bag he had brought by the doorway. Kneeling, he went through each, pulling out items and sorting supplies, Gwen stood behind him, watching him intently. Time dragged slowly as they waited for Jack for arrive.

When Jack did enter the room, the atmosphere in the room changed as the head of Torchwood swept in, carrying a large box which he gently set down on the floor beside Ianto. Stepping over the supplies spread out on the floor already he went to the door and stopped, whistling softly. Gwen moved to stand beside him.

'This is bad,' he said softly, glancing down at her. 'You weren't with us the last time we had to deal with this.' She shook her head. 'Get a camera.' Looking down at where Ianto was still working, he pointed to a camera set off to one side. 'Take some pictures, but whatever you do, don't cross that line.'

Ianto finished his preparations and moved over to the box that Jack had put down on the floor. Reaching into a pocket, he pulled out a key and opened the first lock. He had to type a code into the keypad of the secondary lock. Once he had done that, it opened. They could hear the sigh of air as it escaped what had obviously been a tight seal. Ianto lifted the lid and peered inside. Behind him, Gwen continued to take photographs, documenting the scene.

Ianto worked quickly, pulling items out of the box and placing them in a semi-circle around him. He lifted several trays in layers out of the box, pulling items from each before placing them precisely on top of one another on the floor. Reaching inside the large box, he pulled out a smaller one which he set down next to him, then lifted up a cylinder, easing a rolled parchment out of one end. He carefully unrolled the parchment and read for several minutes. Nodding to himself, he pulled several other items out of the box before sitting back on his heels.

'This isn't going to be easy,' he murmured. Jack turned at the sound of his voice and knelt down next to him, being careful not to disturb any of the items with the hem of his greatcoat.

'Can you do this?' He asked in a low voice, looking at the array of odd vials, containers and bags that surrounded the younger man.

'Yes,' Ianto said his voice certain. 'I can. But we need everyone here before I can start.' Gwen turned at the sound of his voice, having finished taking the pictures. Putting the camera down on a nearby bench, she knelt down so that she was facing the two men.

'How can I help?' She asked. Ianto reached down for the bag by his knee and handed it to her.

'Come with me. You need to be very careful that you don't touch any of the lines. The less we disturb, the easier this is going to go for us,' Ianto said. He stood, grabbing hold of a similar sized bag as he got up. Walking carefully over the items he had placed on the floor, he gestured for Gwen to follow him.

'I'm going to enter the room and I want you to follow me. In your bag are beeswax candles. I need you to go around the right hand side of the stone and place a candle at lines that intersect completely with no breaks. Don't let the lines touch you at all. Give a candle to each of the detectives on that side and ask them to hold the candle at waist level. We have as many as we need; there are more bags in the bottom of the box. But I think this should do,' Ianto said. He ducked under the police tape and carefully stepped into the open space towards his left, leaving room to his right for Gwen to enter.

She gingerly moved under the tape and stepped into the space he had left for her, Jack watching them from beyond the doorway. Ianto nodded at her and waited for her to step off to the right, carefully watching her movements. Once he was confident that she was being cautious he turned to his left, ducked under one of the red lines that still glowed as brightly as when he had first tossed the black sand at it and moved to the corner of the room. He opened the bag in his hand and pulled out a slender tapered beeswax candle, gently placing it precisely in the center of the intersecting lines at the corner of the room where they crossed on the floor. Once he was satisfied that it was in place, he moved further along, placing candles at each line on the floor. Moving slowly, he reached the constable and gave him a candle.

'Please hold this level with that line,' he said pointing towards, but not touching the glowing line in question. The man nervously nodded and brought the candle so that the line passed through it. Ianto nodded. He gave him a reassuring smile before ducking under the red line, putting another candle in between the constable and the technician next to him. Moving closer, he handed another candle to the technician, who immediately mirrored the PC's position with the candle.

Ianto turned towards the stone. The body lay supine on the rock and he gently placed candles at the crown and on either side of the dead man's head, then against the edges of his arms and at chest, waist and hips before moving towards the end of the stone and placing one last candle between the dead man's legs. Gwen had finished with her side and he silently gestured for her to match the same places next to the body where he had placed his candles. Once she had done so, he nodded and moved back towards the doorway, Gwen following silently behind. He waited for her to pass under the tape before ducking under it himself as he left the room.

'Are our medics here? We're almost ready to start.' Ianto took the empty bag from Gwen and placed it together with his own on the stacked trays next to the box.

'They're just coming up now,' DCI Aeron James said quietly. He was unnerved by what was going on. The Torchwood team was taking this very seriously and he knew from the lack of their usual banter at a crime scene that this went beyond the normal odd events, even for them. He didn't want to admit to his own relief that they knew what to do and were willing to take over to get it done. 'What happens if this doesn't work?'

Ianto glanced up from where he was picking up some of the items he had placed on the floor earlier. 'If this doesn't work, people will die. But we're not going to let that happen.'

He stood up and moved back into the room, moving more surely now that the candles were in place. He put the items he carried into the room at the foot of the stone so that they rested in a semi-circle between the dead man's legs. Once he had them placed to his satisfaction he left the room, moving other items from the floor onto the stone along the edge.

'They're here,' Gwen said, peering inside the room. Ianto turned and nodded to her before giving the room one last sweeping look. Good, they were ready.


	5. Chapter 5

Ianto brought the two PCs who had been waiting nervously outside the room along with the medics into the chamber. He positioned one constable near the back corner where the lines had been broken and handed him a candle. He then moved the second one to the right hand side of the room opposite the first and asked them to stand there with the candle he handed to him. When he was finished, he turned to the two medics and had them stand at the bottom corners of the stone, each taking up the last of the clear spaces in the room other than where Ianto had positioned his items at the foot of the stone. He gave them each a candle with the same instructions he had given the police officers and technicians. Both of the medics were men, which was a relief. A woman in the room would have complicated matters.

He left the room and stood next to Jack, who had been watching everything he did with a serious look on his face. 'We're ready,' Ianto said, removing his suit jacket and handing it to Gwen. 'Let me look at the scroll one last time, but I'm sure I have everything in place.' Jack nodded, but didn't say anything. Gwen looked from one man to another, clearly worried that something would go wrong.

Ianto knelt next to the archive box again and opened the scroll, reading through it several more times to commit everything to memory. He ignored the police constables in the room around him who were moving about restlessly. None of them wanted to leave their workmates behind, but neither were they comfortable with the odd actions of the Torchwood team. They also couldn't deny that this was something beyond any of their experiences, and that also made them uncomfortable. They were unhappy because their friends were in danger from something they couldn't understand and couldn't fight. They had to trust the Torchwood team to know what they were doing and to get everyone safe, and quite a few of them didn't trust Torchwood at all.

Rising from his kneeling position, Ianto moved to stand between Jack and Gwen. 'I'm ready. Jack, I need you need to be the anchor,' he said as he turned towards the other man. Jack nodded, his face grim. They stared at one another for a long moment before Ianto turned back towards the doorway. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before passing under the police tape. He moved into his place between the two medics before he turned back to Jack and nodded, signaling that he was ready. Jack flipped open the cover to his wristband and pressed a button. The lights in the room flickered off, leaving the group illuminated only by the doorway and the red lines in the room.

Ianto heard a couple of the men in the room around him draw their breath in surprise at the sudden loss of light. He carefully rolled his sleeves up to his elbows before placing his hands on the stone in front of him. It was time to begin.

Closing his eyes, Ianto breathed deeply; taking long, steady breaths to calm himself and to reach that place within that would allow him to perform the ritual. He opened his eyes and focused on the candle that rested in front of him. He stared at the wick until the candle began to waver in front of him.

'Mi a gyneuaf dan,' he said quietly in old Welsh, mentally translating the words - I kindle fire. A spark flared, turned into a flame and the candle in front of him flickered to life. He ignored the sharp inhalation of breath by the man closest to him. He needed to concentrate and not let anything distract him.

'Cyuarch well y duw y tan.' Hail the god of light. He lifted both arms and spread them wide. As he did so, every candle in the room flared to life. His concentration was so focused on what he was doing that he didn't hear the startled gasps of the men around him as each of their candles erupted with a steady flame.

'Cod an calonneu y duw yr awyr,' Ianto said next, feeling a breeze swirl around him as he invoked the element of air. Lift our hearts to the god of air. The candles flickered, but steadied after the air died down. He reached for a shallow bowl and poured liquid from a glass vial into the bowl. Raising the bowl upwards with steady hands, he continued.

'Can clot y duw y dwfyr,' he intoned. Sing the praises of the god of water. The liquid rippled in the bowl, swirling around before becoming still again. He rested the bowl down on the stone again and moved onto the last element.

He opened a small box, cupping some of the black sand in his hands. Holding it in front of him, he bowed his head. 'Mi a arwyreaf duw y daear.' I honor the god of earth. He felt a small tremble from the stone before him in response. Carefully he put the sand back in the box before closing it again.

Head still bowed, he moved an object into his line of vision. He looked at it for a moment before he continued. 'Cyuarchaf yr gogled,' he said, nodding to the north in salute before turning forty five degrees to face east. He bowed deeply as he spoke. 'Ac yn y duyrein.' Another turn brought him to face southwards. Again, he made a bow of honor. 'Y de.' The last turn faced west. 'Ar gollewin.' He held the bow this time for a few moments before standing upright again. He made the last turn to face north again.

'Ni a dechreuun.' We begin.'Y mae y man hwnn y tu allan yr gofod ac amser.' This place is outside space and time. Ianto knelt down on the floor and rested his head against the stone. 'Ni a anrydedun yr hen duwyeu.' We honor the old. At the completion of this phrase, the light from the candles spread outwards to form a golden tinged shimmering dome that enclosed the group, separating them from those outside of the chamber. He tilted his head back and rested the palms of his hands against the ancient stone before him.

Ianto then began chanting in a low voice, the ancient Welsh sliding easily off his tongue as he recited the words he had memorized off the scroll. He started to feel lightheaded as the various energies within the room tugged on him, feeling intense heat, followed by the cool air. A moment later, he could swear that he could smell the grass from a meadow; the earth firm below his knees. The longer he chanted, the faster the elements moved about him, blurring in a dizzying array of the senses.

After a while, he began to feel a resistance to his words. Wind whipped around him, lifting the sand off the floor and against his face as if trying to distract him. The tiny stones scratched against his skin, but still he continued. A sound like the crashing of waves echoed against the stone in an attempt to jar his concentration. He felt battered about as malignant forces fought his efforts to banish them. Their anger was strong, beating at his will and fighting to disrupt his speech. It felt as if parts of him were drifting away as he chanted. He took a steadying breath, fighting to hold himself together. Looking deep within, he mentally reached back behind to his anchor.

Jack. The presence behind him was strong and even though his eyes were closed, he felt Jack's essence burning brightly behind him. He basked in that warmth for a moment, sheltering against it as the negative forces within the room reacted to his chant, erupting in angry response – fighting him. They renewed their efforts as his voice got louder, the sand that was scattered about the room whipping around to strike Ianto in the face. He never paused, reciting the text with his eyes closed for protection against the elements within the room.

Outside the room Gwen stood with hands in front of her mouth as she watched what happened within the chamber. As soon as Ianto had finished speaking the four quadrants by name, a shimmer had surrounded the group in the room as light spread out from the candles in a globe of protection. She suspected that the protection was more for those outside of the room than those within. Once he started chanting she could see that something was happening, since the men in the room swayed and they could dimly hear the sound of wind howling around the room through the opaque wall of protection.

Ianto was having a hard time staying upright, the sand whipping around him in a small tornado and battering him from all sides. She turned to ask Jack a question and saw that he had his eyes closed with his body angled towards Ianto. Ianto had referred to Jack as his anchor, so she refrained from touching Jack to get his attention. He was obviously a part of this working, despite being outside the room. Gwen didn't know how that was possible, but she knew from her time with Torchwood not to question what was going on. She went back to watching the events in front of her, anxious to see how the battle was going.

The candle on the stone in front of Ianto flared high, the flame reaching up to lick the red lines networked above it. Where the flame touched, the lines burned away. Each of the other candles that had been placed about the floor did the same. The ones that were held by the medics went sideways, burning up the lines they intersected, passing harmlessly through the bodies of the men that held them. Ianto opened his eyes, watching the light shimmer along the lines as the flames ate the energy in the lurid red lines. A screech could be heard as the flames danced, coming together to a point over the stone before descending through the body and into the rock below. When the lines were finally burned out completely, the candles flared and then extinguished, leaving only the wick of the candle in front of Ianto still lit.

The sand drifted down to the floor, the energy that had controlled it dissipating with the red lines from the ritual. Ianto bowed his head for a long moment before reaching for the stone and pushing himself to his feet. He then bowed to each of the four quadrants in the room before turning back to the stone and bowing again.

'Caeun y cylch yn awr,' he said, his voice hoarse from the ritual. We close the circle.'Ny cherdun y llwybr hwnn drachefn.' We will not walk this path again. There was a sound similar to the tinkling of bits of glass as the opaque dome above them shattered, motes of light floating gently to the floor. Ianto leaned forward and gently blew the candle flame out, plunging the room into darkness.

'It's safe,' Ianto said hoarsely as he leaned heavily on the stone. 'You may go now.' The eight men wasted no time in getting out of the room, leaving Ianto standing by himself. They pushed between Jack and Gwen, eager to leave after what had just happened.

With a deep sigh Ianto pushed himself up away from the stone and turned to leave the room. He still felt lightheaded, and he knew this was just the calm before the full psychic effect hit him. He headed to the doorway and walked through it. Jack waited on the other side and wrapped his arms around the younger man in a quick hug, whispering a thank you in Ianto's ear. He pulled back and grasped Ianto's shoulders, looking at him intently. 'You okay?'

'Yeah,' Ianto said, though nodding made his head spin. Jack stared at him for a long moment before releasing him and turning around to address the detective behind him, Gwen moving off to follow him. Ianto stood for a moment, taking slow breaths to steady himself. He was still feeling a bit shaky, and thought it best if he sat down. He never made it over to the bench. After three steps in that direction he lost consciousness and dropped to the floor in a dead faint.


	6. Chapter 6

'Damn,' Jack swore, wincing as he heard Ianto's head hit the marble floor. He walked back the few steps to where Ianto lay and knelt down. 'He said he was okay.'

'Guess not,' Gwen said as she moved to kneel down and touch Ianto's face. 'He's out.' Jack motioned to one of the medics, allowing the other man to take his place next to Ianto. The man checked Ianto's pupils, which reacted to the light before feeling around his head.

'I can't feel anything, but he hit the floor hard. We'll have to watch him,' the medic said.

'I shouldn't be surprised. It wasn't an easy thing to do,' Jack said. He helped the medic lift Ianto up onto the bench, Jack putting Ianto's folded suit jacket under his head as a pillow. 'Let's leave him for now.' He turned back to the Detective Chief Inspector and started talking to him about setting up a meeting to debrief everyone.

Fifteen minutes passed, and Jack was back to check on Ianto. He shook the younger man lightly. 'Ianto, I need you. You need to wake up.' There was no response. 'Ianto.'

'Jack, leave him,' Gwen said. She gently felt his head and found a lump from where he hit the floor. 'He's going to have a concussion.'

'Gwen, I can't. We need him to finish up this investigation.' Jack didn't look happy but he also knew that he didn't have a choice. He asked Gwen to get a glass of water. She came back a moment later and handed it to him, expecting him to drink it. Instead, he dumped it on Ianto, making the other man to splutter as it pulled him out of unconsciousness.

'Ianto, I'm sorry, but you have to wake up,' Jack said urgently. Ianto couldn't even focus on him at first. The young man groaned, using his hand to cover his eyes. 'Please, Ianto.'

Ianto tried to get up. He could only manage to roll over on the bench, moaning. The pain was making him nauseous. He turned his head over the side and started to retch, making Jack and Gwen step back.

'Oh, the poor lamb,' Gwen said. Ianto looked miserable. He heaved a few moments longer before laying back down on the bench, panting. 'Was it the knock on the head?'

'No, probably backlash from the ritual,' Jack said, moving to the end of the bench and reached down to cup his hands on either side of Ianto's head. He leaned close to him, whispering in a low voice to Ianto. Ianto nodded in response.

'Give me a minute. I'll be all right,' he said hoarsely. 'Go get the gear.' Jack moved away and headed downstairs to the SUV to get their regular kit. Gwen moved over to see if Ianto needed some help. He had worked his way into a sitting position on the bench but was still hunched over, trying not to throw up again.

'Ianto, can I get you anything?' She asked. She was dying of curiousity about what had happened, but there hadn't been time for an explanation. She was also curious as to who had performed the ritual in the past the last time they had to deal with this group. She had a lot of questions that she wanted to ask, but she knew it wasn't the time to do it.

'Yes,' Ianto said hoarsely, turning towards her although he kept his eyes closed. He was still seeing double and it just made his nausea worse. 'In the archive box; bottom drawer. There's a white bottle. Get it for me, please?' Gwen moved off to the box and rummaged through it for a moment or two until she found the bottle in question.

'Got it. How many do you need?' She asked, opening the bottle and peering inside.

'Three should do it,' he said. He held out a hand and she deposited three rather large white pills into it. He dry swallowed them, grimacing at the taste. Resting his head against the wall he sat for a moment, clearly still in some distress. He could hear Jack speaking with someone on the other side of the room so he opened his eyes and squinted cautiously about the room. The headache was still there, but it was getting livable by the moment.

'What are those things?' Gwen asked.

'Something Owen cooked up after the last time this happened. Very effective, since I can now focus without the room spinning,' Ianto said. 'Help me up?' He took Gwen's hand and stood. Good. The room wasn't tilting about him. He could function, though he was going to pay dearly for this borrowed time later. He grimaced at the state of his clothes, the water that Jack had tossed on him had mixed with the sand and he felt rather grimy. He took the bottle from Gwen and tucked it under his suit coat so it was out of view just as Jack saw that he was up and walked over to where they were.

Jack was happy to see him standing and grinned. 'Good, let's get started.' He dropped the case on the floor and opened it, handing instruments to Gwen one at a time which she put into pockets. Ianto carefully reached down and pulled out several sets of surgical gloves, handing them each a pair. He then picked up the tools he would need and headed back towards the chamber. He paused at the entrance. 'Jack, could you turn the lights back on?'

'Yeah, sorry about that,' Jack said as he touched a button on his vortex manipulator and the lights flickered on. Ianto moved back through the door and to the foot of the stone, finally spending some time examining the body before he moved to the left side of the stone. Jack and Gwen followed behind him, along with two of the detectives who were assigned to the case. 'Wow.'

At first it looked like the body was covered with intricate tattoos. There were tiny black marks dotted around the torso and limbs, spiraling in circles and complicated Celtic patterns. Ianto looked up from the body and motioned for Gwen to come to the side of the stone where he was standing. 'Let me show you what to look for,' he said, pulling one of the outstretched hands and turning it over to show the back of the hand. 'These are not tattoos.' Together they leaned closer and he used the tweezers to pull at one of the black marks, pulling a long thorn out of the skin.

'Those are thorns?' Gwen shuddered and moved back, revolted. Ianto nodded.

'Yes, they were used as part of the original ritual. We need to extract them all,' Ianto said. Jack was already working at the other side of the body, extracting the small black thorns one by one and placing them in a plastic case. At Gwen's look of confusion, he continued. 'We need to account for each and every one of these. It will give us information regarding what the group was attempting to accomplish.'

'Oh god, this isn't finished, is it?' Ianto shook his head. Gwen bit her lip. 'I had better get started, then,' she said. He left her working on the arm before moving down to the feet. Taking another set of tweezers and a box, he worked quickly to remove the thorns, placing them one by one into the container. The marks moved up the thighs and onto the groin. When he had gone as far as he could go on either leg, he sighed. The police were in the room, watching as they worked in silence.

'You owe me a new suit, Jack,' Ianto said as he pushed the legs farther apart and knelt on the stone. He tried to avoid as much of the pooled blood as he could, but it was inevitable that he was going to get some on his trousers.

'Expense it,' Jack said absently, but looking up to give Ianto a quick grin. He stopped for a moment, watching Ianto kneel over the corpse and pulling thorns out of the legs. 'You know, that's really hot right now.'

'Shut it!' Ianto and Gwen said in matching tones of disgust, making Jack laugh. Ianto tried not to laugh in response. He knew Jack did it deliberately to get their minds off of what they were doing. He heard a mutter behind him from one of the detectives and had to stifle a chuckle. Thus another Torchwood rumour was born.

Jack was working across the chest and down the abdomen, making his way to where Ianto was working up to the hips. They both paused, looking down at the body below them. Sharing a glance, Ianto whispered, 'Poor bastard.' The man had been castrated as part of the ritual. Ianto just hoped he hadn't been aware when it had happened. They finished their work quickly, neither eager to spend any more time than they had to there.

Ianto worked his way off the stone, grimacing in disgust at the state of his trousers. The body was also starting to smell. The spell had retarded the decay, but now that it was gone the smell was bad. He closed his eyes, willing his stomach to settle. He moved around the slab stone to where Gwen was still working. He moved up to the head, pulling thorns out of the face and one side of the neck while Jack worked on the other. By the time they finished, Gwen was just picking the last bits out of the chest. Ianto and Jack went over the body a second time, making sure they didn't miss anything.

'Let's flip him towards you,' Ianto said. Jack nodded and they both pushed their hands under the body. Gwen moved back, giving them room. 'One, two, three,' Ianto said and together they rolled the body. Ianto sighed. The back was covered with markings. 'They had to have done this before they came here for the ritual. There's no way they could have done this while they were here.'

'Maybe,' Jack said, as he got to work. 'Then again, maybe not. Imagine a force doing this all at once, piercing the body. It doesn't have to be human hands doing it.' Gwen made a little mew of distaste. 'Don't knock it until you've seen it.' They all got back to work, none of them wanting to prolong this work anymore than necessary. Somewhere behind them someone left the room and they could hear the sounds of them retching. Ianto was breathing through his mouth, trying not to inhale through his nose.

Finally they finished, which was a good thing for Ianto, since the pills were wearing off. He swayed and Gwen ducked her shoulder underneath his arm to steady him. 'Whoa,' he said, reaching out to clutch the stone slab. 'Not good.'

'Relapse?' Jack asked as he stacked the boxes together and moved around the stone to support Ianto on the other side. Together he and Gwen moved Ianto out of the room and back over to the bench. It was when they were sitting Ianto down that his jacket got pushed aside and the bottle fell to the floor. Jack stared down at it, then back up at Ianto again. 'Please tell me you didn't.'

Ianto was bent over, head in hands. 'How do you think I was able to function?' He felt Jack kneel down in front of him.

'How many did you take?' Jack asked. Ianto's eyes were closed and his face was pale.

'He asked for three pills out of the bottle,' Gwen said, scared by Jack's reaction. 'What's wrong, Jack?' Jack sighed and shook his head.

'It's okay. I know why you did it. But the crash is going to be bad,' he said. 'Wait here a minute while I close things up. Then we'll get you home so you can rest.' He didn't wait for an answer. Standing up, he picked up the bottle and pocketed it before motioning for Gwen to follow him. Together they packed up their belongings, working quickly to stow their gear. Gwen enlisted several of the PCs to help them bring the boxes and cases down to the SUV. Jack spoke with the detective inspectors and released the body over to them. When they were finished cleaning up, Jack walked over to the bench and pulled Ianto up into a standing position.

'Can you walk?' Ianto nodded hesitantly, but kept his eyes closed. Jack pulled Ianto's arm over his shoulders so he was supporting most of the other man's weight. Gwen grabbed his suit jacket and followed the two men out of the exhibit. She steered them towards the lifts rather than make Ianto take the stairs and they made it quickly down to the street entrance below.

'Gwen, can you take Ianto's car?' Jack asked, fishing in Ianto's trouser pocket for his keys. Tossing them at her he grinned. 'Don't put any dents in it, or he won't be a happy camper.'

'Of course I won't! Shall I just follow you?' She asked him as he opened the passenger door of the SUV and eased Ianto into the seat. The poor man was almost unconscious again. She wasn't sure how he had kept functioning in the first place.

'No need, I'm going to take him home and put him to bed. Why don't you just knock off and take his car home? Or leave it at the Hub if you'd rather,' Jack suggested.

'Can you manage him by yourself?' She asked, looking at her team mate anxiously. Jack nodded.

'Yeah, we'll be fine. See if you can get those photos developed, too. We're going to need them to ID the body because I have a feeling the police aren't going to find anything,' Jack responded. He smiled at her and waved as he headed to the other side of the car. He got in, starting it up and headed off towards Ianto's flat.


	7. Chapter 7

Jack drove to Ianto's flat and pulled up as close as he could to the main entrance before he put the SUV in park. Getting out of the driver's side, he moved around the vehicle and opened the door, pulling Ianto out. He was a dead weight and Jack lifted him into a fireman's carry to get him up the stairs to his floor. Jack fished around in his coat pocket and found his copy of the key. He had to shift around awkwardly to fit the key in the door and as he did so, he noticed the slightly opened door of the woman across the hall who was peering out nervously at him.

'Too many double martinis at lunch,' Jack told her with a grin. 'Poor sod can't hold his liquor.' She gasped at being addressed so forwardly and slammed her door shut. Jack could hear multiple chains and locks being pulled systematically and grinned to himself. Though how Ianto was going to react to that one when he found out was anyone's guess. Jack just hoped he wasn't there when the woman confronted the younger man.

Once he got the door opened, he entered the small vestibule and kicked the door closed behind him. He made his way through the arched doorway into the living room and passed through it to the bedroom. Sunlight streamed through the gauzy material of the curtains, illuminating the room. Ianto in his usual neat way had straightened up that morning, making the bed and tidying things before going to work. Jack listed to one side as he pulled the duvet cover off the bed before carefully depositing Ianto onto the mattress. Ianto slumped over, unconscious. Jack sighed. He moved over to an old hardwood chair and removed his greatcoat, draping it over the chair before turning back to look at Ianto. He was going to be out for a while, if past experience was anything to go by, Jack mused.

Jack tugged Ianto's shoes off and dropped them to the floor. Moving up to the head of the bed, he undid Ianto's belt and pulled it out from underneath him, dropping that as well. Opening his trousers, he carefully tugged them off the other man, avoiding the dried stains from the museum. He winced as he examined the ruined material. He did owe him a new suit. Jack smiled. He'd make it up to him, and they might even have a little fun with it. Shaking himself out of his reverie, he loosened the younger man's tie before pulling it off and draping it over the top of the valet stand. He then undid the buttons on his shirt until the front was undone and he could lift Ianto up into a sitting position and pull it off by the sleeves before laying him back down again.

Leaving Ianto in his underwear, Jack pulled the duvet up around him. He pulled up each eyelid to see if there was any damage from Ianto's bump on the head. He got a normal pupil reaction and sighed with relief. Ianto was going to be out for some time, though. Time enough for him to go to Hub and get some work done before he needed to come back and check on him again. Jack went to the bathroom with the discarded trousers, removed Ianto's wallet from the pocket and at least made an attempt to let the ruined fabric soak in the sink in case Ianto thought it was salvageable. Running the water, he added some soap and pushed the bundle under the sudsy water until the sink was full. He then switched to cold water, got a glass and filled it up. Grabbing that and a bottle of Paracetamol, he set them on the nightstand next to the bed in case Ianto woke up before he returned. Stroking the hair back from Ianto's face, he leaned down and kissed his forehead. Hopefully he'd be back before Ianto woke.

He picked up his coat and headed out of the flat, making sure he had the key in his pocket before leaving. It wouldn't do to have to bang on the door to get back in, he mused. Ianto's neighbor would probably call the police or something. Chuckling softly, he closed the door behind him and used the key to secure the lock. Glancing at the door opposite, he saw that it was still tightly shut. Time to go. He quickly walked down the stairs and out the door, ignoring the twitch of curtains as unseen eyes followed his movements outside the building. He got back into the SUV and sped off, heading in the direction of the Hub.

#

When Jack came through the cog wheel door entrance, he found Gwen staring at her computer display.

'Hey, I thought I told you to head home,' he admonished as he walked down the stairs and over to where she sat. He stopped and looked over her shoulder.

'I wanted to take a look at these photos and see what the police database had,' she said, engrossed in what she was reading. 'How's Ianto?'

'Down for the count,' Jack said as he stood behind her and crossed his arms. 'What did you find?' Several photos were open in one display, showing the museum room from various angles as well as some overhead shots of the body. The document that Gwen was reading was an old newspaper clipping. Leaning closer, he could see that it dated back to the last investigation. He smiled. Trust Gwen to want to know what happened before. He had wondered how long it would take her to start asking questions.

'They should update their database if you found that in there,' he murmured, lips close to her ear. She twitched in reaction as she felt his breath tickle her neck.

'Do you honestly think I wouldn't go into our own archives as well?' She turned her head so that she was looking at Jack. He was so close to her that she could see the variations in the irises of his eyes. 'I haven't gotten the story of what happened before yet, but I will.'

'I don't doubt it,' he said, stepping back as she started to lean towards him and turning to head to his office. 'Don't stay here too late. I don't want an irate husband berating me for not letting you get home at a decent hour.'

'Rhys wouldn't do that,' she exclaimed. She did check her watch to see what the time was. Still early enough that she would get some more work done before heading home. She went back to the article she was reading, but didn't find much useful information. Gwen did a global search on the Torchwood database on human sacrifice and got thousands of hits with documents going back to the last century that had been scanned into the system.

She nibbled the edge of a fingernail as she tried to remember the name Ianto had called the group. Ado? She frowned as she sounded the word out in her mind. No. She closed her eyes and thought back to the museum and Ianto's explanation. Andoia or was it Adoliat? She thought that was it. She typed the name in the Torchwood search engine along with several possible alternative spellings and got a much smaller list. Good. She started going through the files one by one until she got to Owen's autopsy report. It bore the title Slag on the Slab. She sighed. Typical Owen. She double clicked the document and it opened up several folders on her desktop. Opening the first, she was happy to see that it was the written report and not the morgue photographs. She started to reading, eager to find out what had happened before.

Upstairs in his office Jack was making notes. He recorded everything that had happened at the museum, and pulled up his private records to compare them with the last encounter with the Adoliat yr Arglwydes. A glance at the CCTV showed that Gwen was still ferreting for information. He'd tell her soon enough, but he was kind of curious to see what she found out on her own. Often she came at things from a different angle and gave them a new perspective on a problem. He didn't want to taint her efforts by telling her anything that would steer her into a particular conclusion. Briefly he wished he could have a cup of coffee, but without Ianto to work his magic on the machine he was going to have to settle for the local coffee shop or water. He sighed. Neither sounded appealing, so he just put his head down and kept on working.

Several hours later Gwen sat back and sighed. While she had certainly found a lot of information in the database, it had been scattered throughout several reports. She had found herself taking notes just to keep the timeline straight. She had even read Jack's entry which was less than edifying. She was tired, and if she stayed any later Rhys would be going spare. Shutting off the display she got up and stretched. The images from the afternoon still swirled about in her head and she shook it as she made her way to Jack's office to tell him she was finally headed home. This was definitely something she didn't want to bring home with her, and she had learned to compartmentalise what happened at work so she could separate it from her home life. Most of the time, anyway. She got to the doorway and saw him writing furiously. 'Jack?'

'Mmmm?' He responded absently, not looking up. 'You still here? How many times do I have to tell you to go home?'

'I'm going. I just wanted to let you know that I was heading out,' she said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the keys to Ianto's car. Resting them on the corner of Jack's desk, she hesitated. 'We'll talk tomorrow, yeah?' He finally looked up from the paper.

'Yeah, of course. See you tomorrow,' he said, smiling. She nodded and headed towards the door but stopped before she went through.

'Jack?' She asked, her body half turned towards the man seated at the massive desk. 'Who was it last time?'

'Who was what?' He asked, putting down his pen and looking at her.

'Who was it who did that ceremony the last time? Ianto mentioned some stuff that made me think that this had happened before. I need to know what happened,' Gwen said. Jack had to suppress a smile. From his internal clock she had lasted longer than he thought she would have before asking her questions.

'You're right,' Jack said, sitting back and stretching. 'It did happen before. It was shortly before you came to work for us, actually. And yes, we had to perform something similar to what you saw this afternoon. It was Suzie who did it the last time.'

'And who was her anchor?' Gwen asked, curious. 'I assume that she needed one as well.' Jack nodded. 'Who on the team was it, then?'

'Owen,' Jack said. Gwen looked confused. Owen didn't seem like the most sympathetic person for the job. 'Think of what happened as a form of magic. It certainly goes back to ancient elements that still respond to the words today.'

'But magic doesn't exist, does it?' Gwen asked. She thought back to other things she had witnessed in her time at Torchwood. There would have been a time that she wouldn't have thought that faeries or ancient gods that killed with their shadows were real, either. She knew the answer to her question before Jack replied to her.

'Who is to say what magic is?' Jack asked. 'Heinlein said that one man's magic is another's engineering. I've certainly seen enough evidence of that over the years. But there's something about this place that lends itself to the myths and legends that came down through the centuries. Like there's something about Wales that the veil between reality and magic is that much thinner than it is in the rest of the world. I don't know, maybe it's the rift and it allows those things that have been lost to the past elsewhere to stay here, still responsive to those who know how to call it.' Jack paused as he thought for a moment, his eyes looking distant. 'It's hard to quantify.'

'Like the faeries?' Gwen asked. She thought back to that time when they had invaded her life and shuddered.

'Could be. I never really thought of them in that light before,' Jack said thoughtfully. 'A lot of it is definitely in the corner of the eye sort of realm. But much of this other stuff would lie quiescent other than for the fact that someone is coming in and disturbing it.'

'And why are they doing it?' she asked, mystified. She tried to think of why someone would want to do something like what she had witnessed back at the museum and came up with a blank. It defied logic. Jack shrugged.

'Who knows? Power, usually. They may be people unhappy with the world today and are looking for a return to the ancient times when life was simple. Who knows? We never got to talk to them the last time, so we don't know.' Jack leaned back in his chair and it creaked under his weight. 'I hope we get some answers this time.' Gwen looked pensive as she considered his words.

'Why Owen?' She asked. The question seemed to come from out of the blue, except Jack was now used to her circling back through the conversation and asking follow up questions which didn't seem to make sense. It was the way Gwen's mind worked.

'Because they had been lovers,' Jack said. Gwen's eyes opened wide as she considered his comment. 'The person who acts as the anchor is the link to the here and now. What you saw today was something that occurred outside of time as we know it. Once the circle is closed, it is possible for that person to become dislodged from the present and potentially become lost. The anchor acts as a lifeline back for that person, and is outside the circle to hold them to their reality. That connection from being intimate is a line between two people, broken only when the love for one another is gone. Even if you stop being together, that link will always be there, short of it turning into total hatred or something that psychically disrupts that connection. If I had a way to show it to you, you would see that line between you and Rhys.'

'And between yourself and Ianto,' she said, understanding what happened. Jack nodded. 'During whatever it was that was happening, you had such a look of concentration on your face. Could you feel what was going on?'

'I don't know if I can honestly say what I felt,' Jack said, pausing for a moment to consider the feeling from earlier in the day. If he was being candid with himself he was a little disturbed by what had happened and what it could mean for him in the future. 'I felt that Ianto was under a lot of duress,' Jack said. 'What I was trying to do was to project myself towards him, offering him my strength for him to lean on. I felt something, so I guess it worked.' He shrugged and scratched his head. 'Ianto can probably tell us more about what he felt once he wakes up.'

'I'll have to ask him,' Gwen said. Jack nodded. He could see that she had gotten more information than she had bargained for and really needed to think about it for a bit before asking more questions. And he had no doubt that she would have more questions during this investigation. 'I should be off. Rhys will be wondering.'

'Yeah, he will be. Goodnight, Gwen,' Jack said, a slight smile tracing his lips.

'Goodnight, Jack,' Gwen said and finally left the Hub.


	8. Chapter 8

Ianto slowly became conscious. It was a gradual thing, where first he was aware of the warmth of the sunlight coming through the window shining on his face. Breathing in, he could smell that unique scent that meant Jack to him. Something tickled his cheek, which was resting on Jack's chest. It took him a moment to recognize the edge of one of Jack's braces under his chin. He felt the caress of a hand on his back, stroking lightly.

'Welcome back to the world of the living,' Jack said softly, his voice more of a rumble against Ianto's ear than something he heard.

'Mmmmm,' Ianto mumbled. His throat was dry as a bone. He licked his lips and felt them crack. 'Ow.'

'Here.' He felt Jack shift as he reached for something that was on the nightstand. 'Have some of this,' Jack said, holding a glass of water which he rested on his chest. Ianto gingerly raised himself up on one elbow, Jack supporting him from behind with his arm. His headache was there, but manageable compared to what it had been. He took a sip from the straw, enjoying the cool liquid. His mouth was like a sponge, sucking up the liquid before it even came close to going down his throat. He eagerly drank some more until Jack pulled it away from him.

'Hey, not so fast! You don't want to make yourself sick. Take it slowly, there's plenty more,' Jack said, brushing Ianto's hair which was sticking up all over. He smiled as he looked at the younger man. Ianto was licking his lips, trying to soothe the cracked skin of his mouth. He brought the glass back towards Ianto who clamped his lips around the straw again. 'Drink – but slowly.'

Ianto sipped more cautiously, though he really wanted to inhale ten glasses of the stuff. He knew Jack was right. He was probably dehydrated and didn't want to cramp up. He finished and put his head back down on Jack's chest.

'How are you feeling?' Jack asked, stroking his fingers through Ianto's hair. Ianto sighed.

'Did you get the number of the lorry that ran over me?' He asked. He felt Jack chuckle. 'Fragile. I think that sums it up nicely.' He closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of Jack's hand. 'That feels good.'

'Hungry?' Jack asked him. He nodded. 'Want to get up?' Ianto considered the question. He probably should. Lord knew how long he had been out. His bladder was definitely letting him know it had been a while. He lifted himself back up again and peered over at the clock. 'Noon?'

'Yup,' Jack said. 'Noon on Saturday.' Ianto looked at him in shock, his eyes wide at the news. 'You've been out of it for two days.'

'Have I really?' Ianto asked. Jack nodded. 'Wow.' More than time to get up, then. He rolled over to the edge of the bed and pushed himself upright. When the world didn't sway too much, he figured it was okay. He dropped his feet over the bed and sat for a moment.

'You okay?' Jack asked. He sat up and made sure he was ready to move around the bed in case Ianto was shaky. Ianto nodded his head. 'Take it slowly.'

'Yeah, I know.' Ianto replied. He stretched carefully. Everything seemed to be in order although his body ached all over. He pushed off against the bed and stood up. Jack came around the other side to help him. 'I'm fine.'

Jack looked at Ianto critically. He had lost a lot of weight in just the last two days. That working at the museum had taken a lot out of him.

'We need to get you fed son,' Jack said, drawling out the phrase and mimicking an American southern accent to mask his concern. Ianto was cautiously stretching his arms up to the ceiling.

'Loo first, I think,' Ianto replied before heading off in that direction. Jack chuckled. When Ianto was finished, he came back to the bedroom to find Jack holding a robe open for him. Slipping it around him, Ianto tied the robe around his waist. He had gotten a good look at himself in the mirror and could see why Jack thought he looked malnourished. 'Thanks.'

They made their way out to the kitchen, Ianto squinting in the bright light. He immediately went to the coffee pot. Thankfully, he had cleaned it out the other morning so all he had to do was grind some coffee, add the water and set it to brew.

'Hungry?' Jack asked. He nodded. 'I can go pick up something or we can have it delivered.' Ianto shrugged and opened the fridge. It was looking rather sparse, so it was going to have to be one or the other.

'Delivered. You shouldn't have to play errand boy,' Ianto said. He turned and looked at Jack only to see the big grin on the other man's face. 'Though I'm sure you'd like it.'

'Ya think?' Jack asked with a lifted eyebrow. Ianto just shook his head and reached for the phonebook under the phone. He flipped through the pages and picked up the phone.

'Pizza okay?' Jack nodded. 'Good, because that's what we're getting.' Ianto put in the order and hung up the phone. 'Should be here soon.' He went back over to the coffee machine and pulled two mugs out of the cabinet. Pouring two cups, he brought them over to the table where Jack had sat down. Sitting across from him, Ianto just held the mug up to his face and sniffed appreciatively. Jack chuckled at the look on his face.

'I think I'm feeling jealous,' he quipped before taking a sip from his own mug. Ianto ignored him. 'Damn, I've missed this.' Ianto opened his eyes and looked at him for a moment before taking a sip. It was good.

'What's been going on while I was out like a light?' Ianto asked.

'Not much,' Jack shrugged. 'We've mainly been doing research, backgrounds, working with the local men in blue – that sort of thing. The usual - working up a profile, digging into the records. Getting stuff together.' Jack took another sip of coffee before continuing. 'It's been slow because the CCTV didn't catch anything in the area around the museum, at least not in the off hours. So that means either they entered the building before it closed and then hung around to do their ceremony, or they were able to block the cameras. Personally I'm hoping for the former, because the latter just gives me the creeps.' Jack shuddered theatrically and Ianto laughed. At that moment, the buzzer rang. 'That's my cue.'

Jack got up and headed to the door. Ianto was content to sit and drink his coffee, though he did get up to refill their mugs. He was starting to feel a bit more human, and his stomach growled as he caught the smell of the pizzas that Jack was carrying back into the room.

Jack placed the boxes in front of Ianto and went to get them some plates. Ianto didn't wait. He opened the box and turned it so he could use the top to catch anything. He took a bite and chewed.

'Gosh, that expression is even more suggestive than what you did with the coffee,' Jack said, amused. Ianto kept on eating. Jack laughed as he sat back down, moving the box and putting the plate in front of him. He grabbed a slice of his own and ate more leisurely. Ianto had practically inhaled the slice he had and he reached for another. 'Careful,' Jack cautioned him.

'I'll be fine. I just need to eat,' Ianto said before taking another bite. He never knew pizza could taste so good. It was like he was having it for the first time. The flavors combined into something akin to ambrosia. He ate four slices before he finally felt like he could slow down. 'Sorry about this.'

'It's okay,' Jack said indulgently. 'You're due.' He sat back and watched as Ianto finally stopped eating. 'What would you like to do today?'

'Honestly?' Ianto asked. Jack nodded. 'Go get some work done. I feel like we're up against the clock where the Adoliat are concerned. It's a bit worrisome that I've lost two days already. That's two days that they could be doing another sacrifice somewhere.'

'Yeah,' Jack said. 'We have been monitoring stuff, but this isn't coming from the rift. This is good old fashioned humans playing with stuff they shouldn't. This could end badly.'

'It's already ended badly for one poor bloke,' Ianto said. He closed the box and got up to put it away in the fridge. 'I'm for a shower and then we can go.' Jack nodded. He watched Ianto pick up the plates and put them the sink before heading towards the bathroom. Jack sat lost in thought as he heard the water turn on. He toyed with the idea of joining Ianto, but knew the other man was still tired. Time enough for that later, once things had settled down at some point.

Ianto washed quickly, eager to get to work on the problem facing them. He had some ideas based on their earlier investigation, and he itched to get back into the archives to see if he could find the information he sought. He dressed and once he felt that he was presentable, he returned to the other room.

Jack was sitting on the sofa when he emerged from the bedroom. He gave Ianto an appreciative glance. 'You should wear that more often,' he said of Ianto's outfit of jeans and a simple dress shirt as he stood up. 'They show off your assets.'

Ianto snorted. 'You've got a one track mind. Ready?' Jack nodded. 'Good, let's get going.' He grabbed a jacket off the hook and reached for his keys on the table by the door. Opening the door, he allowed Jack to walk through before following him into the hallway. He locked the door behind them and they made their way down the stairs to the front entrance.

In the lobby they ran into his neighbor from across the hall, Mrs. Sweeney. She was carrying several bags from the corner market. Jack headed out the door, mumbling something about getting the SUV from around the corner. Ianto nodded absently as he went out the door.

'Good afternoon, Mrs. Sweeney,' Ianto said with a smile. She harrumphed a response at him. 'Would you like me to help you with your bags, ma'am?'

'No thank you,' she said in a clipped tone. 'I don't need help from you.' Ianto stepped back, surprised. She struggled up a few steps and he instinctively moved towards her to help. 'You need to watch yourself, young man. Really, it's a disgrace!'

'Pardon?' Ianto asked her, thoroughly confused. She turned away and made her way up the rest of the staircase. He could hear her mumbling something about improper behavior and that she didn't know what this world was coming to. Mystified, he let her go without trying to help further. He went through the door and found Jack waiting for him by the curb.

Getting in, he shook his head. 'That was odd.'

'What was?' Jack asked as he looked over his shoulder before pulling into traffic. He wasn't going to mention his last encounter with the old woman.

'She told me I was a disgrace,' Ianto sighed and put the thought away about what was bothering Mrs. Sweeney. 'No matter.' Jack remained quiet for the rest of the drive back to the Hub.


	9. Chapter 9

The Torchwood team worked over the next few days to put together their profile for the upcoming meeting with the police. This wasn't the sort of thing either group could handle on their own, so it was necessary to work together. Jack was a little concerned about how much information they did pass to the local police, but it was obviously something that they needed to share. Hopefully they would get somewhere before the next body showed up.

Tuesday morning found the group pulling up outside the South Wales police headquarters for their meeting. Leaving the SUV parked on the street, they made their way past the group of constables who were just leaving for their beat shifts and made their way into the interior, Gwen leading the way. She nodded to the officer at the front desk who buzzed them through the door into a hallway. She kept on walking, the two men trailing behind her. Up a set of stairs and down a hallway, they made their way through a squad room and into a conference room at one end. Ianto recognized several faces of people who had been at the museum.

'Captain, Jones,' DCI Aeron James said, nodding stiffly to the two men before smiling at Gwen. 'Good to see you, Cooper.' She smiled back at him. 'You know Detective Inspectors Sorles and Drake. Over there is HM Coroner, Tim Clair. Please take a seat.'

Jack and Ianto sat at one end of the table with Gwen taking a seat around the corner. Ianto removed a laptop out of his bag and set it on the table. Jack pulled his mobile out of his pocket and set it on the table next to Ianto's laptop bag before removing his greatcoat and laying it on the chair next to him as he sat down. Gwen sat around the corner at the seat next to him. DCI James closed the door to shut out the sounds from the room beyond before turning back to the group. 'Let's talk about what we know. It isn't much. I hope you can fill us in on the rest so we can make some progress.' He looked down at his notes.

'This is what we have. One male, approximately 22 years of age, killed in a sacrificial ceremony of some kind inside the National Museum. No one saw this man enter the museum, nor did anyone hear anything that might have happened. Internal CCTV doesn't show this man at all. The museum was open from ten to eight. After eight, there are guards who walk rounds, but again no one heard anything and it looks like the guard assigned to walking the Origins exhibit decided to take a nap instead.' The DCI paused, obviously making an attempt to refrain from any comment about private security and their lack of professionalism. Jack quirked a smile in his direction and the two exchanged nods of agreement. 'So the first time anyone finds the body is when the museum opens the next day and the initial tour group walks into the exhibit at ten twenty five. Luckily for us they didn't enter the room. But they alerted the guards, who then called us.'

'Tim, what else can you add to this?' The DCI asked before sitting back down. The coroner was a thin man with grey hair and a worn look to him as if he were overworked. The doctor looked down at his notes before glancing back up at the group. Nervously adjusting his glasses, he nodded as if to reassure himself.

'As DCI James said, the victim was a white male, approximately 22 years of age. There was no identification found at the site. The body itself had multiple puncture wounds caused by the thorns which you removed on site.' He looked up and frowned at them briefly. Disturbing the body in such a way had affected his examination, and he wasn't happy with that. He pursed his lips in disapproval before glancing back down at his notes. 'Cause of death was that his heart stopped. Castration occurred prior to that, by the by. Time of death was sometime between one and four in the morning. The body was remarkably preserved, given that it wasn't found for almost five hours later.' He flipped through several pages of notes. 'Chemical analysis shows some sort of substance in the bloodstream, possibly hallucinogenic in nature. I've sent it out to the lab for analysis.

'There were no signs of struggle, and the body wasn't restrained. So my feeling is that he was a willing victim. Though how he couldn't have struggled during what happened, I have no idea. We're still trying to identify the body.'

'Robert James Cullinan, Irish national,' Ianto said quietly while opening up his laptop. Jack slid Ianto's bag over so that it was out of the way. As the computer started up, the Torchwood logo on the cover glowed. He pressed the key and the projector above them flickered to life. A moment later, Ianto's laptop was projected on the wall. DCI James looked from the laptop to the projector above his head before turning to look at the wall. He shook his head. No one had touched the remote, but the projector had turned on by itself. Typical Torchwood flash, he thought in disgust, but refocused as Ianto began to display information from his laptop.

Ianto was bringing up records to share with them. The top document was an image of their victim from a passport photo. 'Aged 21, born on the tenth of July, 1988. No records or prior convictions. Only son of a pub owner who is a widower from the small town of Enniskerry in County Wicklow. Graduated from Trinity College, Dublin, with top honors in linguistics and a specialty in ancient medieval history and culture.'

'His father hasn't seen him in over eight months,' Gwen picked up, continuing the flow of information. 'He said that the last time they spoke over the phone that Robbie was excited about some research he was doing. Mr. Cullinan didn't know too much about it other than that he had taken the boat over from Rosslare to Fishguard to meet some people. That was about five months ago.' The men sitting around the table stared at the fact that Torchwood had not only identified the victim, but had also been able to find a next of kin and speak with them. DI Tom Drake glared at the information on the screen before turning his attention back to the man in the suit. Jones, he remembered the man's name was.

'You people have us at a disadvantage,' he said grudgingly. He frowned, feeling annoyed that once again the police were playing catch up to Torchwood. He really hated these people with their superior ways who seemed to show up their efforts by deigning to share the information they had. It wasn't the first time he had lost a case to Torchwood's highhandedness with a Cardiff Police investigation. He stamped down on his feelings, knowing that they were at a disadvantage at this point. When he looked down the table he thought he saw their leader smirking and it made his blood boil. 'What else do you know that we don't?' Ianto looked at Jack who nodded for him to continue.

'This is not the first time we've have a run in with this sort of thing,' Ianto said in a quiet tone. 'And because of the unknown nature of this recent occurrence, we need to share some historical data with you.' Ianto brought up another window on his screen which held the Torchwood logo. 'This is the report regarding our last encounter with the group of which we believe Mr. Cullinan was a member.' He scrolled down past the confidential watermark to the next page.

'Adoliat yr Arglwydes roughly translates to the Cult of the Lady,' Ianto said. 'Historically in Wales the mythology was benign, with a belief system that stemmed from several tales known as the Mabinogion, though research has shown us that this may not be the only set of tales of ancient worship – they are only the ones that survived to be passed on. In specific, what we know about this group is very little.

'We first ran into them several years ago. At that time they didn't seem to be actively engaging in human sacrifice, but were performing a ceremony which ended up with the accidental death of one of their members. This occurred up in Llangernyw. We were called by the rector of St. Dinain's when he stumbled over the body.' Ianto paused and flipped through several pages, bringing up photos of a scene which looked all too familiar to the group sitting around the table.

'Why do you think it was an accident?' DI Edmund Sorles asked. He was a heavyset Welshman and his dark eyes scanned the document that Ianto was showing them. He was taking what Jones said very seriously.

'We found one of the members of the group. Apparently she was the cousin of the young man who had died and was involved in the original working. It was from her that we were able to glean most of the information we have about them that we have today. The group follows Blodeuwedd, the ancient goddess of moon mysteries and initiations. She, along with Arianrhod are widely recognised as fertility goddesses.' Ianto brought up some additional information in the form of artwork of the two mythological figures.

'Initially, the group was trying to raise power. It was the midst of this working that the young man named Nathaniel Dyers choked and died during the ceremony. When we encountered his cousin Charlotte, she was in a very fragile state from what she had seen. She's now institutionalized and unfortunately catatonic.

'It was in our investigation that we found the gwe y bywt – the web of life as the group calls it. Those are the lines that you saw in the chamber at the museum.' Ianto brought up several more images.

'How come that one is blue, but the one we saw was red?' Detective Drake asked.

'That is part of our problem,' Jack said. He had been sitting quietly through the briefing so far, but turned away from the display towards the three detectives. 'Our suspicions are that either the group had some sort of organisational change at some point, or they realized that they could obtain more power through an active sacrifice. What you are looking at are the lines that were created when they did their ceremony. In the first instance it was supposed to be benign. In this most recent case, it isn't.'

'So this stuff is real?' DCI James asked. Even though he had been at the Museum, he had hoped for some sort of rational explanation for what he had seen. The images brought back the immediacy of what had happened in a very striking fashion. Jack nodded grimly. 'What do they get out of it? And is what they are trying to do real?'

'Very real, as you saw for yourself. Why does anyone do something like this? For power, most probably. What they do with it is another question,' Jack said. He turned back to the projection screen and gestured towards the man at his side. 'Ianto, please continue.'

'There are interesting dichotomies between these two events. In the first, it was held outside in an area that is widely recognised as a place of power, where our ancient ancestors worshiped for many years,' Ianto said. He opened up one of the photographs from the museum and placed it side by side with the other one. 'In the second, it was inside, though that may not have been their choice but by necessity, since that is where the stone was located. Here's the interesting part.' He moved the window of the second photograph over the other and pressed a command on the keyboard, making the top image slightly transparent. 'The lines are identical in terms of the height, size and direction around the stone.' They could see that the blue lines of the previous ceremony were damaged, the lines broken, where on the red, they continued through everywhere but where the police had been through in their investigations.

'What does it mean?' DI Drake asked, fascinated despite his earlier resentment of the Torchwood group. Ianto shrugged.

'At present, we don't know. But the last time this happened, the local police had been over the scene before we got there. Three of them died before we arrived. The first slipped in his bathtub that evening. The second choked on food and drove off the road on the way back to the station. The third stepped out in front of a truck and was killed immediately. Once we started gathering up all the individuals, we found that several had had close brushes with death, and three others had died shortly after being on the scene. And in every instance the person had been within a few feet of the stone,' Ianto said.

'It was one of my operatives at the time who figured it out,' Jack interjected. 'She had had some experience in mystical elements of rituals and was the one who developed the black sand that allowed us to actual see the psychic residue of the working,' Jack said. 'She also researched, along with Ianto's help, a way to break the curse. That's the same thing we did at the museum the other day. So we have a way to counteract what they're doing, but we need to find out more information so we can figure out what they want and what they're going to do with the power they raise up.'

At the moment the PDA that Gwen had in front of her chirped, distracting the three Torchwood agents. DCI James thought the device looked a bit too bulky to be useful for day to day work, but these Torchwood types were strange. Gwen tapped at the screen, staring at it intently. James stared at her thoughtfully. He remembered when she had first started on the force. A bit of a timid thing, really, he had thought at the time. She certainly had changed since then.

She looked up at Jack. 'It never rains but it pours," she said with a sigh. 'Inverted Rift spike.' Jack leaned over and pulled the device towards him, looking down at it for a moment.

'I'll check it out. Gwen, Ianto, keep on kicking ideas here and see what you can come up with.' Holding onto the device he got up, picked up his coat and left the room, his long legs carrying him swiftly out of the building squad room. Neither agent seemed perturbed with his actions but turned back to the discussion at hand.

'So, what does all of this tell you so far?' DI Sorles asked. It all seemed to be so strange that he couldn't make heads or tails out of what they were telling him. Originally, he thought the whole thing was a load of crap. But having heard what had happened to the Llangernyw police department made him realize that this was all too real, and that they had to take it seriously. He just hated that it meant they had to work with these people. He had the same departmental resentment that the others had about having to work with Torchwood.

'We know that the lines are a power network. As we saw in the case of the museum working, it kept the body preserved until I canceled the spell,' Ianto said, pulling up more information. 'The lines are actually a series of Ogham scripts interwoven with one another along with Celtic knotwork. Presumably as the spell is woven, it is creating these symbols, increasing the buildup of power by interlocking them with one another.'

'This is really a spell?' DCI James asked dubiously. Ianto nodded gravely. 'I just don't believe this thing can happen. What you speak of seems so fantastic, it doesn't seem possible.'

'It shouldn't be happening,' Ianto responded. 'But these people have found a way to make it real. It took some time to come up with the counter ritual the first time around as well as the way to reverse what happened in a safe fashion.' Gwen stared at him for a long moment as she considered how it was that Suzie had originally come up with a solution. It couldn't have been easy.

'What about the thorns?' The coroner asked, intrigued by what he had heard so far. Seeing the body had been one thing, but seeing that network of glowing lines had brought the reality of the bizarre situation back into focus in a very real way. 'Are those significant?'

'Yes,' Ianto replied. 'The thorns are from an ancient grove of trees found only in Ysbyty Ifan. These thorns are said to have magical properties which are supposed to enhance esoteric workings. The pattern and number of thorns can give us some information, as we have some contact with experts in ancient ceremonial rights of this sort. I believe that the hallucinogenic drug that you found in Mr. Cullinan's bloodstream came from these thorns.' Ianto opened his laptop case and pulled out a plastic evidence bag with the Torchwood logo which he slid across the table to the doctor. 'I'm still waiting for our lab to analyze the information we were able to give them. In the previous case the group did use some thorns, but not to the extent that we see here. Charlotte mentioned that they were experimenting with the sacred properties of the wood, and that it was important to the working they did.'

'And the castration?' DI Sorles asked. 'Was he really alive when they did that to him?' Each of the men in the room winced at the thought. They looked at the coroner who nodded confirmation. 'Ouch.'

'That's part of what is so worrisome about this,' Ianto admitted. 'This is a group that celebrates the fertility of the goddess. One would hardly think that castration would be a desired state. So that is part of the puzzle as we figure out just what this group is up to and what they hope to accomplish.'

They went on to discuss in detail several points which linked the two cases, and how the group was able to go underground the last time. Torchwood had formidable resources, and the fact that they had been unable to find any of the members showed that they had the ability to hide themselves.

'Why this stone?' DCI James asked. 'And why do it at the museum? There are hundreds of stones out there that they could have used that we would never know about. Are they doing this to get our attention, or because they just don't care and they think we can't find them?'

'All good questions, Aeron,' Gwen said. She stared pensively at the screen, looking at the photos there. 'Why is the question, isn't it?'


	10. Chapter 10

Music suddenly started playing and they all paused to look at Ianto, since the sound was coming from his direction. He picked up his laptop bag and the music got louder. It was Jack's mobile which had been lying underneath the bag, and it was playing Vader's Theme from one of the Star Wars movies.

Ianto reached for the mobile and stared at the screen. 'Oh, no!' He exclaimed softly. Gwen asked who it was and he shushed her. Taking a deep breath, he flipped open the mobile and held it up to his ear.

'Torchwood Institute, Cardiff. Good afternoon Prime Minister, this is Agent Jones.' Ianto said calmly. The four men in the room stared at him. 'No, the Captain is out on assignment at the moment and I am monitoring his mobile communications. How may I help you?' He listened intently for a long moment while the Prime Minister spoke.

'Do you really? Yes, I'd be happy to be of assistance,' Ianto said. Gwen thought he looked rather pale and that he was taking quite an effort to keep his voice steady. He closed his eyes and listened. 'Good afternoon Your Majesty, how may I be of service?' He could hear Gwen gasp softly as she sat next to him. DI Drake choked on his coffee and had to cover his mouth to stifle his coughs. Sorles patted him on the back as they listened to one side of the conversation. As Ianto listened to whatever the Queen was saying, he opened his eyes and pulled his laptop closer. He pressed a combination of keys and created a blank page in the document they had been looking at and started typing. Aeron James turned towards the projection screen and read as Ianto asked via the display if there was a conference phone in the room. He nodded to the Torchwood agent and got up, walking over to a desk and pulling a conference phone over to the table. Ianto opened a browser window on his laptop, connecting to the British Telecom website and typed a code into a search field. He then pulled up a control page and typed in a name and password. An access granted logo appeared and Ianto typed in some additional information before another graphic with an encryption service showed on the screen.

'Pardon me, Ma'am, but at this very moment I am in a meeting with Agent Cooper and several detectives from the South Wales Police on a very similar issue to what you are currently describing. May I have your permission to transfer your call to a speaker phone in our conference room? I believe that what you have told me needs to be heard by these gentlemen as it may help us with an existing case. Yes, thank you. Please hold while I transfer the call.'

Ianto stood up and hit the button for the speaker phone. Once he heard the dial tone he typed in a number. His laptop screen registered a call and the number and he typed in a sequence of numbers before pressing several buttons on the mobile phone. A moment later the line was connected.

'Your Majesty, Prime Minister, we are now on a secure Torchwood line inside the Cardiff Police station. I have with me here Agent Cooper, HM Coroner Clair and Detective Chief Inspector James as well as Detective Inspectors Sorles and Drake. Ma'am, if you would be so kind, would you please repeat what you've just told me?' Ianto asked, slowly easing himself back down into his chair.

'Good afternoon,' The Queen said, her voice coming clearly out of the speakerphone. 'Thank you Agent Jones for your assistance. Please understand that I hope that you and the South Wales Police will undertake the utmost discretion on this matter.' Ianto started typing notes on another window of his laptop, making a record of the conversation for future reference.

'Today I was scheduled for an engagement which allowed me to indulge in a side visit to my son's home at Llwynywermod. He had recently renovated the house and was quite excited about the work he has done there. It was while we were traveling towards Myddfai that we saw what seemed to be an unusual occurrence. That was a flock of birds circling above a stand of trees, not too far from where my son's lands are. We pulled over to the side of the road to look, thinking an animal had been injured and would need to be put down.

'When we walked through the fields to the woods, it was to find a terrible thing. Someone had performed some sort of ritual on one of the standing stones in the woods. There is a body there and from what we saw, it was some sort of satanic ritual.'

'Ma'am, this is very important,' Ianto said. 'Did any of you get close to the body in any way?'

'No, once we realized what we had found we kept our distance, Mr. Jones. I do read your reports, and even if this was not similar to that horrible event from several years ago, I deemed it prudent that we not go closer.' Ianto sighed in relief.

'Very wise, Ma'am,' Ianto responded. His commented elicited a laugh from The Queen. Ianto glanced around the table and the looks of amazement on each of his colleagues' faces. He never knew that Gwen's eyes could get that big. He shook his head to clear it when The Queen spoke again.

'Mr. Jones, could you please remind me of your Christian name?' The Queen asked.

'Ianto, Ma'am.' Ianto replied.

'A lovely Welsh name,' The Queen commented. 'Ianto, I need you to go out to Llwynywermod and investigate this for me. I am speaking to you myself specifically because none of my staff know about your group or what you do. That is a prerogative of the Crown and I would prefer for it to remain so. Please investigate this, and report back as to whether this is a direct threat to my family or our people. Whoever is responsible has done a terrible thing, and I fear now that we have spoken that neither of these events are isolated. Please go and stop them, before it's too late.'

'I shall endeavor to do so, Your Majesty.' Ianto assured her. 'We are working with the best here in Wales, and we will get you the answers you desire. With your permission, we will start immediately and head out to investigate the site.'

'Thank you, Ianto. And thank you, Agent Cooper and the fine detectives you mention. A pity that Jack isn't about. I do so love speaking with him.' The Queen said. Ianto's lips quirked at her comment.

'He will be extremely sorry he missed speaking with you, Ma'am,' Ianto said. Gwen put a hand to her mouth to stifle any noise she made at his dry comment. 'I'm sure he'll be in touch once we have something to report.'

'Very well. Godspeed gentlemen, Agent Cooper,' The Queen said. A moment later the line clicked over to a dial tone as the call was disconnected. The BT page on Ianto's browser popped up a message to let them know that the secure line had been terminated. DCI James reached over and turned off the speaker phone.

'Wow,' DI Sorles said. 'Who are you people that you have the Prime Minister and the Queen herself ringing you?'

'We're Torchwood,' Ianto replied. 'Our organization was formed via royal warrant from private funds by Queen Victoria. Specifically to do what we do, which is to be the front line defense in the supernatural, extraterrestrial and otherworldly.' He sighed and looked down at his laptop where he had saved the notes from the meeting. 'I do have to say that was my first conversation with Her Majesty. Usually Jack handles the higher end communications. But we do reports on a regular basis to the Prime Minister as well as for the private royal records.'

'We better get going,' Gwen said. She got up, grabbed her jacket and two steps later paused. 'How are we going to get there?' Jack had taken the SUV.

Ianto tapped his com in his ear. 'Jack?'

'Yeah?' Ianto and Gwen could hear that Jack was out of breath. The detectives in the room heard only half the conversation as they watched the two operatives listen intently to their ear coms. 'Busy here.'

'We have a situation,' Ianto said. 'Can you break free?'

'Nope, got a skittish new resident,' Jack said. At the moment he was struggling with an out of control young man who was flailing wildly to free himself. The fact that he outweighed Jack three to one was why he was having such a hard time with him. 'I need to get him to Flat Holm. What's up?'

'You left your mobile behind,' Ianto said as he powered down his laptop and opened his bag to put it inside. 'Really Jack, what were you thinking by putting Darth Vader's theme song as the ring tone for the Prime Minister?' Gwen stifled a giggle as she remembered the look on Ianto's face.

'Hey, I thought it was appropriate!' Jack protested. He grunted as their new guest elbowed him in the stomach. Ianto shook his head as he heard Jack groan before continuing. 'You probably should have known better than to answer it.'

'It's a good thing I did, Jack,' Ianto said, his tone forbidding.

'Gotcha!' Jack exclaimed. The two agents waited while Jack panted for a moment or two before responding. 'What'd he want?' They could hear Jack breathing heavily. He was probably carrying their new resident as he spoke to them.

'It wasn't what he wanted, it was what she wanted. The Queen, Jack. I ended up speaking to the Queen of England!' Ianto was affronted that he had felt so unprepared by what had happened.

'Oh, good thing you picked up then,' Jack said, not sounding at all repentant about leaving his mobile behind nor the fact that Ianto had had to answer it. 'What did she want?'

'She wanted us to look at a body near her son's house. Jack, she ran into another sacrifice,' Ianto replied. Gwen had shut off her com mic and was talking to the detectives about arranging a ride out to the site.

'Damn,' was all Jack said after a long moment of silence. 'She didn't get too close, did she?'

'No, she said she reads our reports and knows better.' Ianto's tone was laced with amusement as he remembered her comment. 'We need to get out there right away. If you can't come with us, we'll go with the team here. I'll give you an update when we know more.'

'Sounds good. If I can break away at some point, I'll let you know,' Jack told him. 'Be careful.'

'Always,' Ianto said before cutting the link and turning back towards Gwen. 'What's our plan?'

'We have a vehicle that can get us out to where we need to be,' DCI James responded. 'Though how are we going to investigate this if no one knows about you existing?'

Ianto chuckled. 'No one officially knows,' he replied. 'Around here, everyone knows who we are. The Royal Protection Squad will let us in and we can see what we have to deal with.' He turned to his partner. 'Gwen, we're going to need some supplies.' She nodded in response.

'Right, we'll need to stop by our office,' she told the three men who were standing by the door. She started to head in that direction before turning back to Ianto. 'I don't suppose the kit is in the office, and not stowed in the back of the SUV?'

'Actually, it is,' Ianto told her. 'I pulled it because I wanted to inventory how much I had used and what needed to get replaced. It's under my desk upstairs.' He hefted the laptop bag onto his shoulder and followed her through the door, the others trailing behind them. He noticed that the coroner was following close behind. No doubt he wanted to see the body up close on his own before they had to remove any thorns they had found. That was fine with Ianto. Any information they could get from any source would be good.

'Will it be enough for us to use today?' She asked over her shoulder as she led the way. They turned right away from the direction from which they had entered the room and headed around the corner towards the back of the building, the three detectives following them silently.

'Should be,' Ianto confirmed with a nod. He did a quick mental inventory of whatever else they might need. 'I wouldn't mind bringing the Vandersraff viewer if we can fit it,' he mused. Gwen nodded. Jack had been so excited when that had come through the rift. It might show them something they were otherwise missing.

'Let's grab it as well.' By this time they were climbing down several flights of stairs down to the car park below. Ianto could hear the huffing from behind him as one of the detectives was obviously having a harder time of keeping up with their pace. He didn't slow down though. Time was of the essence.

Gwen hit the panic bar on the door and pushed it open. The weak sunlight shone down on them as they reached the row of police vehicles. She turned back towards the other men. 'Which one, Aeron?'

He nodded the direction with his chin and took the lead. 'Over here. It's going to be a tight fit. How much room do you need for your kit?' He asked Ianto as he opened the doors.

'You saw the size of the case we had the other day,' Ianto began. 'About the size of a standard foot locker. We also have another piece of equipment that I'd like to bring. We could strap one or the other to the roof, if needed.' The detective nodded, then turned to his colleagues.

'Drake, with me. Sorles, I want you to take what we've got now and start in on that. Do some digging, and be our base here for when we call in.' DI Sorles didn't look too thrilled to be left behind but nodded. One of them had to keep on working with their present case. And with the information they now had about the victim, they could do some digging of their own. Aeron James turned towards the coroner. 'Tim, you'll be with us?'

'Yes, I need to see the body in the field. I can follow in my car and take someone with me if that would help things,' Tim Clair said. The detective nodded in response.

'Good. Drake, go with Dr. Clair and follow us.' He turned towards Ianto. 'I assume we all need to arrive together and we shouldn't send them ahead?'

'I think it would be wisest if we were together,' Ianto nodded. 'I'll need to speak to the Queen's security people, so best we do it that way.' James nodded.

'We'll swing by Mermaid Quay then. Meet us there in the Millennium Centre car park and we can head out from there.' The other two men acknowledged their instructions and headed off to the coroner's van. 'Let's go.'


	11. Chapter 11

After a quick stop at the Hub, the group headed out to Llwynywermod. It took them a little over ninety minutes, taking the A470 up through the Brecon Beacons and circling around to where they needed to be. Ianto had booted up his laptop as they drove and was doing some rapid fire searching using a Torchwood database to look for information. Gwen sat in the front seat talking to Aeron James while Ianto did his research in the back. He was looking up all possible standing stones, cairns and hill forts near the prince's property and came upon a short list of those closest which might be used for a sacrifice. He also took a look at the geographical lay of the land from satellite, mapping out probable routes for entrance and egress for each one. By the time they stopped, he was armed with more than enough information.

They met the Metropolitan police representatives assigned to watch the site. Ianto got out of the Rover when they arrived and spoke with the military looking man who had stopped them. After a short conversation he turned and headed back to where they were sitting. DCI James had rolled down his window, perhaps so that he could listen in. Ianto nodded to him as he approached.

'They want us to follow them, but there will be a point where we'll have to go on foot. The location is the Carn Goch Cairn, which is down the road a bit.' He opened the back door and got in. James waited for the royal protection officer to get into his own vehicle before following it back onto the road. It didn't take them long to get there, and Gwen could see the birds circling above. Occasionally one would dip down briefly before soaring upwards again. She could tell that they were wary of getting too close to whatever it was below them.

They left the road, following a dirt track that jarred their bones as they bumped along, the coroner following behind them at a slower pace in his car. There was a gap in the trees ahead of them and a moment later they came into an open field. DCI James stopped next to the other vehicles parked there and shut off the engine.

'Right then,' he said. He wasn't really looking forward to another one of these messes, and this one was so far out of their jurisdiction that he wished he could just pass it off to the locals. But he also knew that it was possible that they would get some clues from this site that might help them in their own investigation. Anything to stop these people whoever they were, he thought to himself.

Ianto and Gwen were first out of the Range Rover and they walked over to the group of security who were standing a prudent distance from the stone. It stood in the middle of the circular field and directly under the circling flock. Ianto looked upwards, shielding the light from his eyes. After observing the birds for a long moment he scanned the circle. Without a word he turned back to the Rover and retrieved the Torchwood locker from the boot. He opened the lock and pulled out several bags. DCI James knew what it was, even only having seen it the once. Ianto returned and nodded to the royal protection squad before turning towards Gwen. 'Shall we?'

'Let's,' she said with a nod. They had discussed what they needed to do back at the Hub. Ianto started walking off to his right, close to the edge of the field where the trees were. Occasionally he would reach into the pouch and toss a small handful of sand inwards towards the stone. Gwen did the same thing while moving left. Everyone watched them solemnly and without comment. It seemed unnaturally quiet. While the tall grass moved in the breeze and Aeron James could see the branches in the trees swaying, it was as if the normal sounds had been sucked away by whatever had happened there.

He looked back at the Torchwood operatives. They had reached the other side of the field and crossed over, spiraling inward as they went. They passed one another several more times as they made their way closer to the stone that stood in the middle of the field. DCI James frowned before glancing around again. The stone seemed to be placed in the middle of this field, which seemed to be a perfect circle. Definitely not a natural occurrence, he decided. He shivered, feeling a deep unease about whatever had happened here.

After a while, one of the Metropolitan officers asked them about their case, and together James and Drake explained what had happened at the museum, all the while keeping their eyes on the pair of agents who were moving ever closer to the center of the field. The conversation dropped off with the first bit of sand that didn't fall to the ground, but seemed to hang motionless in the air for a moment before sifting downwards slowly. As it passed through the air, a violet bordering on red arc was revealed. They had found the edge of the working. The group of men watched as Gwen took a step closer on her side and tossed a handful of sand upwards. She was standing almost opposite of where Ianto was. Again as the sand fluttered downwards it exposed faint pulsing lines of color before the excess sand disappeared into the grass below. As if they had planned the move, the two agents shifted positions, moving several steps to their right before tossing more sand outwards.

They worked their way around the stone, slowly defining the size and shape of the interconnecting lines. Aeron had to look away after a while. There was something almost nauseating about the lurid lines that were revealed. Ianto tossed a handful upwards, seeking to find the top of the working. He had a feeling that it was no more than a meter or two, given the size of the working at the museum. He paused as the men watched and reached for his earpiece.

'Jack?' The group had moved in closer once they knew the boundaries of the circle. They could hear Ianto speaking as they got closer. 'How'd it go?'

'He's settled down,' Ianto and Gwen could both hear the tired tone in Jack's voice. 'Helen will help him get situated and we'll see.' Jack let out a heavy sigh, not realizing how audible it was over their com system. Gwen smiled sympathetically as she thought of the Torchwood facility on Flat Holm that was the haven for those people torn from their homes only to be returned again, broken by their experience. Jack always felt responsible for every person that was returned by the Rift. She had tried to convince him it wasn't his fault, but he always took it personally. 'How are you two doing?'

'We're defining the working now,' Ianto replied. He looked upwards, not wanting Gwen to notice how he had reacted to the pain in Jack's voice. The birds were still circling and he tossed another handful up, thankful that it drifted enough to cover the top of the stone. The sand clung to the lines, but none drifted downwards to the body below. 'Are you up to coming out here?'

'Yeah, of course I am,' Jack replied with a note of surprise in his voice. 'Why wouldn't I?'

'Didn't know if you were too bruised and battered from our new guest to be able to drag yourself out here,' Ianto drawled in a sardonic voice. He grinned at Gwen when they both heard the snort of derision that drifted through the com to them.

'I've had multiple sumo wrestlers who have given me more trouble,' Jack replied. 'In fact, there was this time on Ajaras 4… or was that 7? Well, one of those little mining colony asteroids where….'

'Shut it, Jack,' Gwen said with a grin of her own. 'By the time you finish that story you could be on your way.'

'Already am,' Jack replied. They heard a blare of a horn and Ianto shook his head. 'On my way that is, not there, obviously.' They heard him curse before continuing his train of thought. 'Don't attempt to disarm this without me.'

'Wouldn't dream of it Jack,' Ianto responded. 'Who do you think is going to get the thorns out?' Jack only grunted.

'Can you give me a description of the vic?' He asked as he turned onto the A470 and headed north. Gwen gave him a description of the body that was lying on the stone. It was another young man who looked to be in his twenties. Ianto shook his head as the others finally approached. Jack kept on talking and Ianto pulled the earpiece out of his ear so he could talk to the men at his side.

'Was this what you found at the museum?' The coroner Tim Clair asked as he stared at the lines, fascinated. What he had seen on the photographs really didn't do it justice. The web of networked lines swirled about in a very complicated pattern. Ianto nodded in response and the older man peered through a gap to the body beyond.

'Same, isn't it?' James asked and Ianto agreed. 'What do we need to do?'

'For now we wait,' Ianto replied. 'We need Jack here in order to dismantle the working. I can't do it on my own.' He looked upwards at the birds again, his face thoughtful.

'Gwen can't help?' DI Drake asked. He stared from one Torchwood operative to the other, a curious look on his face. Ianto shook his head. 'Thought you all were kind of interchangeable.'

'Hardly,' Ianto responded dryly. He frowned and stared intently at something above him. Aeron James looked up, trying to see what he was looking at.

'What is it?' He finally asked. Ianto pointed and directed his gaze to the edge of the circle where it curved over the stone.

'See there, right at that curve?' Ianto asked and Aeron narrowed his eyes into a squint. From where he was standing, he didn't see anything. 'I need to get closer.' He turned to one of the Metropolitan officers. 'Daniel, do you think you can bring one of your Rovers over that I can get on top of for a closer look?'

The ginger haired man with the neat beard nodded and turned, heading over to where they had parked. They heard the engine start up and waited for him to approach. The man didn't get too close, not wanting the weight of the vehicle to inadvertently shift the ground and break the circle. 'That's good,' Ianto said with a nod. He climbed up onto the back and hauled himself onto the roof. He stood on the roof rack and moved to the side closest to the working. Reaching into the bag in his hand, he tossed a handful of sand outwards. Most of it pooled on top of the curved dome, but a bit caught something else, and Aeron began to see what it was Ianto had noticed earlier. Gwen had finished her conversation with Jack and had come over to see what was going on.

Ianto took a step to his right and tossed another handful of sand. They could see a faint line, more purple in color than the red of the working which angled off the edge of the dome and drift off into space. Ianto shifted to the front of the Rover and tossed another bit of sand. The line grew, extending to the north and slightly to the west.

'Oh no,' Gwen breathed out. Ianto was looking grim. He jumped down off the roof and strode over to where the men were looking towards the north. 'There's another.'

'How far, do you think?' James asked. He was peering northward as if he could see the line that was stretching in that direction. He felt a headache coming on as this case was becoming far more complicated than it was already. 'And where?' Ianto turned toward Daniel Bellam, the leader of the Royal Production Squad.

'I don't suppose you have access to a helicopter that we could borrow?' Ianto asked him.

'Torchwood doesn't have one?' Drake asked, half in jest. 'Doesn't your boss know how to fly? Just assumed he did, based on that coat and all.'

'Haven't you've seen the way he drives?' James asked in an aside. The two men chuckled and turned to where Ianto and the security men had drifted off as they talked. Bellam spoke over the radio, no doubt summoning a helicopter. James had to shake his head in reluctant admiration. Whatever kind of pain in the arses these people were, they certainly had a lot of clout. He crossed his arms and observed the scene before going to the edge of the clearing. There was only one road in, which was the one that they had taken off the main road. He was curious as to whether that was the way the people had gotten here or whether they had come off the beaten path so to speak. Perhaps there was some mistake that they had made that would give them some inkling into how they were doing what they were doing, and why. He was just as disturbed as the others at the thought of yet another victim somewhere to the north. How many others would there be before this was over? Shaking his head, he made his way through the trees, walking the perimeter in the hopes of finding a clue that might have been left behind. Sometimes good old fashioned police work would do just as well as the fancy Torchwood methods.

Gwen looked over at the coroner who was positively itching to get within the circle and begin to examine the body. She walked over to where he crouched by the edge of the glowing lines. She sighed as her boot heels sank into the soft ground. They were going to be ruined at this rate. Another thing to expense to the Torchwood accounts. She sank down beside him.

'What do you think?' She asked. He just shook his head, still taking notes and occasionally looking up before moving slightly to get a different angle. He wasn't prepared to offer any suggestions before being able to physically touch the body. Gwen went to get her camera so she could document what they had so far. Anything they got done now before Jack arrived would be work that they wouldn't have to do later.

A short time later they heard the motor of a helicopter approaching. Gwen looked up and shaded her eyes. Strangely, the birds didn't budge from their circling despite the approach of the foreign metal bird that was much larger than they were. The helicopter began to lower itself carefully onto the ground some distance away, wary of disturbing the site. Gwen frowned.

'How is that possible?' Tim Clair asked and Gwen turned to him in surprise. 'No wind from the blades.' There it was; someone else had confirmed what she had found odd about the approach. She had been on enough helicopters to know the familiar feel of being buffeted by the wind generated by those large blades. The fact that they weren't was most disturbing. She saw Ianto approaching out of the corner of her eye and she headed in his direction. He had armed himself with more of the sacks that held the black sand. She wondered how much of a supply they had and how they would be able to make more without Suzie or Owen around.

'Need help?' She asked in a low voice. She was feeling a bit unnerved by everything and couldn't wait for Jack to get there. There was something primal inside her which felt revulsion at what they had found here and the thought of there being yet another victim to find made her feel sick to her stomach. She knew that Jack wouldn't have any more information than they did at present, but she still looked to him for answers. For some assurance that he had seen this sort of thing before and knew how to battle it. To stop it from happening again.

'No, you wait here. Jack shouldn't be long,' Ianto said absently, his mind on the journey northward. He ducked under the still moving blades and accepted a hand up into the back area of the helicopter. Gwen could see him explaining whatever it was he wanted to do. He waved to her and she stepped back to give them room. A few minutes later the helicopter rose upwards. It didn't climb very far, just high enough to be out of the way of the mystical line heading north. Ianto sat in the open doorway of the helicopter and Gwen sighed in relief when she saw a harness around his waist. She knew that if Jack had been there, he probably would have been standing on one of the support struts, taking chances that only he could take. Ianto was quite different in temperament as well as having some commonsense and she was relieved that he was able to do this before Jack arrived.

As the shadow of the helicopter passed overhead, Ianto tossed some sand outwards and the line began to stretch towards the northwest. They began to fly in that direction and Gwen watched them disappear out of sight. What would they find? Would it be another horrible scene, or would they come upon this group in the act? She wasn't sure if she really wanted that to happen. She was torn between the idea of stopping them from creating another victim and the possibility that they could take down the helicopter and harm either Ianto or the pilot. She shivered in reaction. They were gathering power of some kind, and she didn't want it to harm anyone she knew or cared for. Once it was gone out of sight she went off to see where the South Wales Police had gotten off to, since other than the coroner, it looks like she was alone.


	12. Chapter 12

By the time Ianto returned, it was much later in the afternoon and Jack had been there for some time. He was taking readings with his wrist strap, trying to get any information he could from what an intact circle was like. He had also set up some other monitoring devices with Gwen's help and had tested the Vandersraff device, hoping to catch any signal they could that might allow them to trace these people. Jack had stared long and hard at the victim on the stone. He knew what he would find there and he wasn't looking forward to what it was going to take for them to dismantle the working. He was even more disturbed by the fact that it was connected to another sacrifice somewhere else. That got him thinking and he asked the local Metropolitan security if they had an ordinance map. They did and he spread it out over the cooling hood of the SUV and started making marks. Aeron James and Tom Drake stood by his side and watched intently. He first marked the site of the museum, then the sacrifice here. All that remained at the moment was to find out where the third site was.

The sound of helicopter blades heralded the return of Ianto and Jack noted the lack of air movement as it landed nearby. Ianto nodded his thanks to the pilot before jumping out. His hands were empty of the bags he had been carrying. He walked over in the direction of where Jack as standing as the helicopter took off and went back to base.

'Well?' Jack asked. Ianto reached into a suit pocket and pulled out his PDA.

'It heads northwest and we followed the line to Anglesey,' Ianto told him. Gwen gasped and Jack glanced at her briefly.

'And that's…?' He asked, his voice trailing off.

'Jack, how long have you lived in Wales?' Gwen asked him, feeling slightly annoyed with him.

'Not long enough to be able to pronounce all those funny words without proper vowels,' Jack said. 'Hey, so shoot me because I don't know where Anglesey is!' She gave him a disgusted look and for a moment Aeron James wondered if she would shoot him.

'It's near the village of Llanddaniel,' Ianto explained. Jack rolled his eyes since that wasn't any more help than the county name had been. He motioned for Ianto to continue. Ianto let out a deep sigh. 'Up towards Holyhead,' he said patiently, giving Jack a recognizable location. 'Though really closer to Caernarfon.' The Metropolitan police standing nearby exchanged glances. 'Whether that is a coincidence or not remains to be seen. It is across the strait from there, though.'

'Same thing as this?' Jack asked, gesturing towards the stone behind them. Ianto nodded.

'Yes, and the other is intact as well. The sacrifice is on the Bryn Celli Ddu standing stone,' Ianto told him as he referred to his notes. 'It's located in the middle of a farm, but the owner did not give anyone permission to go to the stone recently and hasn't been in that area of his farm for the last several days. The best we can place the time that he was there last was about four days ago.' Jack cursed softly. 'We warned him against going anywhere near there of course and the animals are actively avoiding the area,' Ianto continued. 'We're going to have to go back and cleanse that area as well.' Jack nodded.

'Well, it might be a lead we can use,' he mused. He turned back towards the ordinance map. 'I don't suppose you have coordinates?'

'53.206920 north by 4.237995 west,' Ianto told him. He looked up from his PDA and watched as Jack shifted the map so he could mark the location. 'It's going to be a long day.'

'It already has been one,' Jack replied absently as he stared at the map. He was trying to see if there was any way to triangulate the three locations. 'Depending on how hard this is, we may not be able to do both right away you know.' He looked up at Ianto, who nodded. 'We've never had to deal with an intact circle. Not sure if it will be harder or easier to dismantle, to be honest.' He hoped it was going to be easier. They couldn't waste time and this was going to be hell to get through once, never mind twice. 'I have the rest of the stuff by the way,' he told the other man. Ianto nodded and walked back to the boot.

Gwen turned to the detectives and asked for them to help her set up something, effectively drawing them away from what Ianto was doing. They had too much technology that couldn't be explained away for the detectives to see, and she wasn't planning on retconning anyone involved in this. They needed everyone if they were going to solve this. She was disturbed by the idea that Ianto was going to have to dismantle two more of these workings. The last one had thrown him through a loop, and she could only imagine what he was going to be like after he was done. She yearned to be able to help, but knew that it was impossible.

By the time they were done talking, Ianto had retrieved what he needed and had knelt down next to the circle while he set up, Jack by his side speaking in a low voice. Gwen strained to hear what they were talking about. She got the sense that they were arguing about how to approach what they were going to do.

'We can't take that chance Jack,' Ianto could be heard as she knelt down next to him with the trunk between them. He glanced up briefly before pulling a bag of candles out of the chest. 'I need to get through this.'

'It was never meant to be taken in a situation like this,' Jack said. Ianto stared at him and he sighed. 'I know, there hasn't been a situation like this before. I'm afraid of what it might do to you.'

'And I'm afraid of what will happen if I don't take it,' Ianto replied. Gwen knew that they were talking about the pills he had taken before. Ianto apparently wanted to take some before the working.

'Ianto's right,' Gwen said in support. She caught the look of annoyance on Jack's face that she had butted in and not on his side of the argument. But she also knew that they didn't have the luxury here to debate it further. 'And we're running out of time.'

'Okay!' Jack exclaimed, putting his hands up and drawing the attention of the rest of the men around them. 'You win! But don't come crying to me when it all goes wrong.'

'Hardly,' Ianto replied in a somewhat exasperated tone. In all likelihood he would be face down in the dirt if it went wrong and beyond the care of reprisals from Jack. 'But if we're going to do it, we need to do this now.' He emphasized the last word by poking a finger at a beeswax candle that had pushed its way out of the bag he was holding. Jack sighed but said nothing. He did however stand and headed towards the SUV. Ianto glanced up at his team mate. 'Thank you.'

'You're welcome,' Gwen replied. She felt a rush of warmth and affection for the other man. With only the two of them and Jack, they had to rely on each other much more when it came to getting Jack to agree to something when he didn't want to. She was worried about what might happen to Ianto, but at the same time didn't think they had much choice. 'What do you need me to do?'

'Well the good thing is that the circle isn't broken,' Ianto said with a smile. He was determined to take that as a good sign, since it meant less people involved in the working he had to do. 'So now we place the candles,' he continued as he handed the bag over to Gwen. She took it and nodded her understanding. 'We'll position them at the base around the perimeter as close to where two lines intersect. I'm not sure how this is going to work since we'll be on the outside of the circle, rather than working from within. It may be easy or it may be extremely hard. I'm hoping for the former, actually. But we shan't know until I try it.' He stood up with a bag of candles as well and the two headed over to the SUV were Jack was dawdling. He turned as they approached.

'Jack,' Ianto said his name the once and Gwen could hear the layers of meaning in that one syllable. Jack pulled a small bag out of his coat pocket and reluctantly handed it over to Ianto.

'Only a few,' he cautioned. 'No more than five or the backlash might be worse than what you had the last time.' Gwen was surprised he was willing to allow Ianto to have that many, actually. But her thoughts were distracted by his next comment. 'I've talked to Bellam and the chopper is coming back. I also had them deploy people at the other site, just in case they're still near there. As soon as we pull this one down, we go to the next one. There was no other line connecting that one elsewhere?' He had already asked that question before, but asked again. Ianto shook his head before swallowing the pills that Owen had cooked up for the last time they had to deal with this sort of thing. 'Okay then, we go right to it and pull that one down as well. Either way, I think it is going to send a message. They're going to feel the loss of power, if nothing else. If they're building a web, we'll be dismantling it. Perhaps it will make them pause before sacrificing some other bloke.' He paused, staring off towards the north, his face unreadable to any but those closest to him. Gwen knew he was worried.

'But it also tips our hand,' Jack continued, finally turning his attention back to his staff. He ignored the other people around them, only concentrating on Gwen and Ianto. By this time Ianto was ready and Jack held his hand out for the bottle. Ianto handed it over without a word and met his gaze squarely. 'Because we'll be warning them and they could go underground. I'm hoping they won't because they think they're too clever. There's something about this that makes me think they're feeling a bit smug and cocky about what they're doing. At least that's what I hope is the case. Because if it is, they'll make a mistake and that's what we're going to need in order to catch them this time.' Ianto nodded grimly. He could feel the added energy of the pills as they dissolved in his stomach. Jack watched him carefully. 'Okay?'

'Yeah,' Ianto said. 'Okay.' He waited a moment. 'Shall we get started?' Jack nodded and the two men headed back to the edge of the standing stone, stopping short of the actual barrier that was there. Ianto reached into the bag he was holding and brought out some more candles. He and Jack added these in a second circle around the first that had been placed closer to the lines of the working. Gwen watched off to the side still holding her own bag. She wanted to help but instinctively knew that the two men needed to do this on their own. After all, they were the ones who would be most involved in what was to come.

The policemen stood off to one side in a group, watching what happened silently. This was so far outside of their normal domain that they were happy to let Torchwood handle it for them. They watched as the two men placed the candles on the ground with what looked like particular care. They made two rings, Ianto adjusting the placement of the inner circle closest to the working and Jack creating a second one that was offset from the first. Jack's coat swirled around his ankles as he crouched down and placed the last one before standing again.

Ianto had timed his own work so that they finished at the same time, the two men standing not too far from one another. Ianto pulled off his jacket and handed it over to Jack, who passed it to Gwen. He then rolled up his sleeves in preparation. He wasn't sure what was going to happen this time, especially since he wouldn't have physical contact with the stone. He stared at the lines for a long moment as he absently smoothed the fabric of his waistcoat.

'Ready?' Jack asked as he turned to face the other man. Ianto nodded and stepped between the two circles. He turned and knelt, pulling his supplies out of the bag before placing it beyond the reach of the second line of candles. Turning in place, he focused on the candle in front of him. He took deep breaths to center his thoughts on what was to come next. All his attention would be required now.

'Cynnaf dân,' he spoke in a low tone, starting the ritual in the ancient Welsh dialect. From his first incantation Gwen noticed something happening. The first sign was the birds scattering above. Several of them headed swiftly to the north, along the line that was hanging in the air. Others went south. She stared after them. It looked like they were headed towards Cardiff. Still others headed east. Feeling that was important, she headed to the SUV and came out with a device that the others looked at curiously. She took readings of the directions that the birds had flown, carefully noting how many and the coordinates that they had gone. The group of men standing well off to the side divided their attention between her and what was going on in the middle of the field.

A strong wind was blowing, but only around the stone within the outer circle of candles. Aeron James thought how eerie it was to hear it but not feel it. Ianto's clothes were being whipped about as he knelt before the head candle and chanted. Jack stood directly behind him outside the second circle, legs braced, silent support to whatever was going on within. It was unnerving to see the glow of the dome. It was a milky opaque color this time and the Chief Detective Inspector could have sworn that he saw something swirling along the face of the translucent surface. The group of officers was too far to hear anything that was going on, not that it would have helped. James glanced at the royal security, trying to gauge their reaction. They stared with no expressions and he wondered what sort of extraordinary things they had witnessed in the past that this did not seem to surprise them. At his side his second Tom Drake shifted uncomfortably and he rubbed his arms in reaction to whatever was going on.

The lines of the web started to fluctuate and Aeron had to look away. The pulsing was making him nauseous. He hadn't noticed that effect last time, so maybe it had something to do with the fact that this circle was intact.

Gwen turned and stared at her team mates. Slinging the scanner over her shoulder, she walked over to stand in support next to Jack. She didn't touch or otherwise distract him; he was focused solely on the man who knelt before him who was separated from them by the shimmering golden dome that had appeared. She sent a prayer upwards that this would work, and that it wouldn't take too much out of Ianto in the process. She could see items on the ground lifting and whipping about between the two circles of candles. A rock hit Ianto in the cheek creating a gash but he kept chanting, focused on his task. She winced in sympathy. Obviously he was facing resistance to his efforts. His voice was muffled as if he were behind a wall. Staring at the transparent dome protecting the rest of them from what was going on within, she supposed he was.

'Christ Almighty,' Tim Clair swore softly and Gwen glanced in his direction. The coroner was white as a sheet, his dark hair a stark contrast to his pale skin. It occurred to her that he hadn't seen this the last time and this was all new to him. He knelt down in the grass and began praying. She supposed it wouldn't hurt and if anything might help what they were doing. She turned back to the circle, intent in following what was going on.

The golden dome grew opaque and it was hard to see, though she could see that the wind was whipping furiously around the stone. Ianto swayed and Gwen gasped softly. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jack reach forth a hand, his palm facing inwards towards the stone. Ianto steadied and Gwen marveled at what was going on. She couldn't hear anything but could see Ianto's lips moving as he continued with the chant. She shivered, remembering the echo of how it felt to hear them before.

'Can he do it?' A voice asked from behind her. She knew it was Drake and James told him to be quiet and to at least think positive thoughts that might be helpful since there was nothing else they could do. She heard shuffling behind her and noticed that the Metropolitan police had positioned themselves around the circle, each kneeling as well. She bowed her head and knelt by Jack's feet, praying that this wouldn't take too much out of Ianto as well as hoping that no one else was killed before they could catch those responsible.

A bird's cry made her look up and at that moment out of the clear blue sky a bolt of lightning cracked through the air and touched the top of the dome. She stared open mouthed as the phosphorescent light traveled along the lines that they had covered with the sand, burning it away. Ianto was thrust backwards against the outer dome, which remained intact. She thought she saw something hovering above the circle. Shielding her eyes from the bright light that almost hurt to look at, she tried to see what was above them.

'Ianto!' Jack cried out and he pressed his hands to the golden dome. A sound echoed and to Gwen it reminded her of a church bell. Ianto was slumped against the inner wall, separated from them. At first Gwen thought he was unconscious but then she saw that instead, he was pressed up against the dome as if by some force. His lips were still moving and he was staring straight up at whatever it was above them.

'He's okay, Jack!' Gwen shouted. The wind was now whipping about the clearing and it was like the sound had come roaring back in to deafen them. Where there was once its absence, now it sounded like every noise that had been missing had come back at once. Gwen pressed her hands over her ears.

An ethereal light worked its way down the last of the lines, leaving only one arch which led to the line that headed northwest. The wind began to die down as the light climbed back up that last red trace until it reached the apex. There was a flash and the light and whatever it was above the dome shot along the line that remained in the direction of Anglesey. The dome remained in place and Jack rested his hands against it. He closed his eyes and bowed his head so that it too rested against the barrier, directly behind Ianto. Gwen held her breath. She wasn't sure why the dome still stood when the working had obviously been broken.

'What's that?' Detective Drake asked and Gwen looked up. She had to brush her dark hair out of her eyes. Streaking towards them were some birds. Not the crows that had been circling earlier, but birds of prey; red kites, she thought. They circled several times above the stone circle before winging their way northwest as well. Ianto was still chanting but Gwen couldn't hear the words. Surely by this time before he had completed the working with the dissolution of the circle. But still he continued. He pushed himself back up onto his knees and faced the northwest.

'Oh dear God,' Gwen murmured as she realized what was happening. Whomever or whatever had come to their aid was working with Ianto to dismantle the other circle. Somewhere behind her she could hear that one of the royal security was trying to raise their counterparts in Anglesey, but were having no luck. She turned back to the dome. It would be done when Ianto finished and the dome shattered. Knowing she had little time, she pushed herself back up to her feet and ran back to the SUV.

The rest of the men in the clearing stayed where they were, frozen in place by the events that had occurred in the field. As Gwen returned with a med kit, she knelt back down by Jack's side. 'Jack, you're going to have to move back. The dome is going to go soon and I don't want you hurt. We don't have time to explain to the others. Jack, please!'

He nodded imperceptibly and pushed off of the dome, moving back so that there was some space between him and the golden sphere in front of him. Ianto swayed and righted himself. Gwen could see that his eyes were closed and he was chanting steadily.

It was over a few moments later as with the sound of breaking glass the dome glowed very brightly for a moment before it shattered. The men closest shielded their heads, but no one was hurt. As soon as the circle was broken, Ianto fell face down in the grass. Gwen was there as soon as she was able, along with Jack who rolled Ianto over so that he was facing upward.

'I'm okay,' Ianto said though his eyes were closed tightly. His voice was barely a whisper and Gwen bent closer to hear him. 'Just give me a moment.' Gwen had the Paracetamol ready, along with a bottle of water. Jack saw what she was doing and nodded. The others came over although no one dared approach the stone without Torchwood telling them they could. They had learned over the course of the past few hours that it was safer to take direction from the team on the ground before them.

Ianto turned his face towards Gwen and whispered softly. 'Please.' She slipped several of the tablets between his lips and Jack supported him so he could drink them down. Ianto closed his eyes again, feeling sensitive to the afternoon light.

'Take your time, sweetheart,' Gwen told him as she sat back. 'It's done.'

'Yes, it is,' Jack said. He looked up at Aeron James who was standing closest. 'It's safe now. And I'm sure once Bellam reaches his counterparts, we'll find the other circle is gone as well.' He supported Ianto as the other man sat up. James and Drake knelt down off to one side. Behind them they could hear the click of a shutter as the coroner took more photos before touching the body.

'What was that?' DI Tom Drake finally asked. Jack looked up at the quaver in the man's voice. He looked totally shaken by what he had seen.

'No idea,' Jack admitted with a nonchalant shrug which belied the tension he still felt. He had his suspicions though. 'Ianto? How are you doing?'

'Been better,' Ianto said, his voice sounding a little stronger than before. He opened his eyes again and looked around. 'But not as bad as the last time. I think the pills helped. Jack, let me up.' Jack reluctantly helped the other man to his feet with Gwen holding onto his other arm. The two remained close in case Ianto collapsed again.

Ianto braced his hands on his knees until he was sure he felt steady. He stood up and stifled a groan. He felt pummeled by the events of the last half hour. Gwen reached up and daubed at the gash in his cheek.

'This doesn't look too bad,' she said, acting positive. 'Anything else hurt?'

'My whole body,' Ianto said with a heartfelt sigh. He moved away from Gwen and stared towards the northwest. 'At least I don't have to do it again.' Jack nodded. Even through the shielding, he had felt the resistance to the working, even after the circle here had been burned away. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to fix the feeling in his head so he could think about it later. The crackle of a nearby radio signified that communication had been restored with the other camp to the north.

Letting out a long sigh, Ianto moved over to the stone. Coroner Tim Clair had finished taking photos and was now examining the body. He had a stepstool that he had apparently retrieved out of the boot of his car and had climbed up so he could examine the corpse. Ianto saw that the limbs were in the same position as the victim at the museum. At a cursory glance the thorn pattern looked the same. He thought of the scene he had witnessed in Anglesey, and thought the same design had been used there as well.

He walked around the stone, examining the ground close by, looking for identifying marks. Aeron James matched his movements, looking intently for evidence as well. Tim Clair had been careful to not damage the ground other than to place his stool in an area that hadn't looked disturbed. Detective Inspector James looked from the ground to Ianto's face and then back down again.

'No marks,' he commented. Ianto nodded. From where they moved they could feel their shoes sinking into the soft dirt. But there were no other signs of anyone else having been there before them. No boot marks, no footprints, no indication that anyone had been there at all. 'No sign of vehicular traffic, either,' the DCI went on. The Torchwood operative didn't seem surprised. Aeron James turned his attention to the body and was examining it without touching when the crackle of a radio grabbed his attention. He stood up with a grunt, pressing a hand to his back as he did so and turned to see what new information could be found while he left Jones and Clair deal with the body.

Bellam and one of his security team were at the open door of their Rover listening intently to what the voice coming through the radio was saying. He started heading in that direction when Bellam bellowed out a name. 'Harkness!'

Jack had been putting things back into the boot of the SUV when he looked up at his name being called. Dropping an empty sack into the boot he crossed the grassy area with big strides, his greatcoat swirling around him. James thought it a bit of an eccentric affectation, but as the air started to cool with the sun going down he thought he wouldn't have minded having the warmth it would provide, either.

He blinked as some of the royal team started to turn large spotlights on and aim them in the direction of the stone. He hadn't even seen them setting those up earlier, but they would definitely be needed once the sun dipped down behind the trees. He wasn't sure how so much time had passed, but it seemed to have accelerated at some point. He started to head over to where Jack was talking with the team at the Rover. He never reached them, however.

'Gwen, I need you!' Jack said. They heard the distant sound of a helicopter approaching. 'Clair too, perhaps.'

'What is it?' Gwen asked. She had crossed the area from the SUV to where Jack was just as James got to where they were talking.

'The victim in Anglesey is alive,' Jack told her. Gwen's eyes grew large in her face at the news. 'Bellam has dispatched a medevac team. We need to be there as well. Get your things; we'll take the chopper up when it arrives.'

'Ianto, too?' She asked and he shook his head.

'No, I want one of us here. Besides,' he said lowering his voice and turning slightly away from the others as he spoke to her. 'I'm not so sure he's not going to crash at some point. I'm going to ask one of the lads to keep an eye on him while we have a look-see up north.' She nodded in response.

'Let me grab some stuff and lock up the SUV,' she told him. She crossed over to where their things were stored and brought out a couple of scanners that she shoved into a carryall bag before hitting the locking mechanism on the Range Rover. Ianto looked up at the sound and she made her way over to where he and Tim Clair were pulling out thorns. It would be impossible to move the victim otherwise. Both had gloves on and were dropping the thorns into a tray that was lying on the stomach of the victim.

'The other victim is still alive,' Gwen said and both men jerked around to stare at her. 'Jack and I are going up to meet the medevac team. If they can get him stabilised, perhaps we can get some answers.' She watched as both men looked towards the groin of the victim between them. 'I know,' she said softly. 'He's not going to be in any shape to talk, but perhaps we can find out something.'

'Jack wants me to stay here,' Ianto commented, making it a statement rather than a question and Gwen nodded. 'Right, then. Update me when you can. He certainly won't think to do so.'

'I will,' she promised. She shifted the shoulder strap so it was more comfortable. 'Let us know if you find anything here.' He looked up and nodded before returning to the next thorn that needed to be removed.

'At least you get to ride today after all,' Ianto said with a smile. Gwen grinned at him before heading over in the direction of where Jack was standing, a hand shielding his eyes as he watched the helicopter land. DCI James was standing beside him with a determined look on his face. From the looks of it, he had invited himself along. Jack looked a bit resigned to that, but Gwen was glad to have him along. He had a keen eye for detail which at least she appreciated, even if Jack didn't. She nodded to the man as she came up beside him.

'All set?' Jack asked without turning around as she came up behind him. He didn't wait for an answer but looked towards Bellam. 'When's that medevac getting there?'

'They should be there any moment. And yes, I've passed your request along,' the squad chief told the Captain. 'But it's a miracle he's even alive judging by this,' the man said with a jerk of his thumb over his shoulder.

'Let's hope he stays that way,' Jack said grimly. He barely waited for the helicopter to settle before he was striding towards it with Gwen in his wake. He nodded to the pilot and climbed into the passenger seat, leaving Gwen and James to scramble into the back. The pilot watched as they strapped in and put the ear protectors on before taking off. Jack peered out of the window. 'Can you circle around first?' The man nodded and took them on a wide arc around the field before hovering over the stone for a moment, although high enough not to cause a problem for those working below. Jack thanked him and he made a beeline northwest.

Gwen shivered as she thought back to that light that had shot on the same trajectory only a short time before. She looked at the countryside as it sped past, wondering what else awaited them. How many standing stones were out there, already violated with a violent death staining them? Was there another victim right now being tortured for the sake of someone else's gain? It all seemed so senseless, but at the same time she had seen so many other times when someone had done something similar for a chance at gaining power. Prestige. Anything. She looked away from the window.

Jack was talking over the com system to the pilot, getting a description of what he had seen before. He also asked him if he had seen anything unusual on his way back to them, but the pilot had been off to the south near the prince's property, so had not seen whatever it was that had helped them. James stared out the window not speaking, for which Gwen was grateful. She didn't have answers for the questions he undoubtedly had.


	13. Chapter 13

The flight to Anglesey and onto the Bryn Celli Ddu standing stone didn't take very long by air. Gwen shifted in the uncomfortable seat, feeling antsy, like something was going to go wrong now that they were apparently on a hot trail. This whole thing seemed to be barreling them along at such a pace that she wondered what was going to happen next. Would they next find these people in the act, or would they go on the offensive and attack? She didn't understand them and therefore couldn't predict what they were going to do and that made her uneasy.

'Gwen?' Jack called out and turned his head towards the back of the helicopter. Once he had her attention, he pointed out the opposite window. She moved over and looked, seeing the medevac on the ground of what looked to be an empty pasture. There were local constables moving about along with more of the royal protection squad as well. She sighed. The more people involved, the harder it was going to be to get results or contain this. She glanced back at Jack and saw the frown on his face. She would have to finesse this because he was going to be a bull in a china shop, though sometimes that worked better than her liaison work, if she was being honest with herself.

They touched down and both Jack and Gwen had their doors swinging opened before the helicopter had fully settled. Gwen hefted the bag over her shoulder and chased after Jack, who was definitely a man with a mission with Detective Chief Inspector James left to trail behind them. Jack pushed his way through the local constabulary without a word, ignoring the grousing it caused. She walked determinedly behind him, not wanting to be too far away from what was going on. She was so intent on what she was doing that she all but walked into his back when he stopped abruptly.

'Christ Harkness, is this one of yours?' A voice asked disgustedly and Gwen had to peer around his coat clad arm to see who it was who was talking. It was a man in fatigues and she stifled a sigh. UNIT was sticking their nose in as well.

'Harburson,' Jack said with a curt nod. The two didn't get along well at all and Gwen now understood why Jack had been frowning as they landed. He must have seen the UNIT insignia from above. 'And yes, this is ours. We're handling it.' He stepped aside and motioned for Gwen to head over to the stone. The medevac staff were working over the body and hadn't moved the man pending Jack's orders. They were using the time to stabilize the man's vitals as well as examine the damage that had been done. The team was made up of a man and a woman who both looked up as she approached.

'Torchwood?' The woman asked. She was an older woman a little taller than Gwen with her graying hair pulled back in a ponytail. 'What the hell caused this?' She was assisting her partner in finding an area not covered by thorns to fit an IV into the man's body. From what Gwen could see, they had already packed the genital wound area. The man was breathing shallowly in tiny little breaths, obviously in distress. They finally settled on a vein and started the IV, sending a solution into the man along with narcotics to ease the pain. 'He's unconscious, which in my opinion can only be a good thing.'

'Was he aware when you got here?' Gwen asked. She felt Jack come to stand next to her and spared him a glance. His jaw was set and she knew from the expression on his face that he wasn't going to take any gruff from UNIT or anyone else at the moment. She turned her attention back to the medic who shook her head at her question.

The local police were talking to the protection squad and the South Wales police representative, leaving just Colonel Harburson there with them watching what was going on.

'So when were you going to tell us about this?' Harburson demanded, looking belligerently at Jack. Jack ignored him, focusing on the diagnostic equipment and scanning the display over the shoulder of the other medic who was a tall man with curly blond hair. When Harburson didn't get a response, he turned towards Gwen. 'Well?'

'Not much to tell up until today,' Gwen said, trying not to antagonise the man but also not wanting to get Jack angry. She saw him fingering his vortex manipulator and so decided to place herself in between the two men to shield anything he did that might look suspicious. 'We had a body in Cardiff and then got the call about another one a little south of here. This one came as a total surprise.' The man grunted. It wasn't much information, but more than he had before.

'And why was the first one not put out on the wire to us?' The Colonel asked in an almost peevish tone. He frowned, his grizzled face taking on a look of annoyance that he was so far behind the Torchwood team in terms of information. 'Surely as a common courtesy this should have been spread out to those in the area. Especially if there have been multiple instances of attacks. We could have mobilized forces, you know.'

'First of all,' Jack interrupted, having done his scan behind Gwen's shielding back. 'We've been a tad busy lately. No time for paperwork and niceties, you know.' He gave his trademark winning smile to the man, though to Gwen it was just a front and not the usual charming smile he would have given to her. 'And they're not attacks. That,' he pointed to the man before them, 'is a willing sacrifice.'

Colonel Harburson gaped at the two Torchwood members. 'A what?'

'A human sacrifice,' Jack said grimly. 'Just one of three that we've found so far. The fact that he is alive means that the rite was finished not too long ago and either they thought he was dead or didn't really care one way or another. They're gathering power, Richard. For what, we don't know yet. So it is imperative we keep this man alive so we can hopefully get some information from him.' Jack nodded towards the man with his chin. 'But we have a long way to go before we're going to be able to do that.'

They watched as the two medics worked on the limp body. They had started to examine the tattoo of thorns and the woman exclaimed as one pierced her glove by accident. Jack moved over to her and held the finger tightly enough to act as a tourniquet.

'You need to wash that out immediately. There is a hallucinogen in the thorns,' he warned her. Gwen had already reached for an alcohol wash and together they helped the woman remove the glove and clean the wound. The man beside her was being more careful after her accident.

'But why?' Colonel Harburson asked with a puzzled look on his face. 'Why would someone do this? To what end?'

'Power,' Jack said with a shrug. 'Calling up that which is better left buried in our past? Any number of reasons, really. But this man is our first break in this, and we need to keep him alive and hopefully get him to talk to us.' He stared at the other medic for a long moment as he thought. 'Richard, where's the closest UNIT base with a good medical facility?'

'Well, there's Base 5 up on the mountain,' Harburson said, referring to Snowdon. 'That has one of the more advanced med facilities at the moment. But if we take him there, I want in on this.' Jack stared stonily at the rock before him, weighing the chances of the man surviving in an NHS hospital versus the specialized care that UNIT could bring. Flat Holm was just too far at the moment. He really didn't want UNIT involved, but he was also realistic enough to know that they were going to find out about this sooner or later.

Gwen watched him, having a feeling she knew what was going on in his head. She moved to his other side and pretended to look at the base of the stone. 'We can fix it afterwards,' she said in a soft voice. Jack didn't look at her but she knew he had heard what she said.

'Okay, you're in,' Jack said abruptly. 'Warn your staff that we have incoming wounded.' Harburson nodded and went off to call the base and to give them a head's up. Gwen could see from his purposeful stride that he was happy to do it, because not only did it take him away from the disturbing scene, but it also was his in on the investigation. It meant he could act, even if he didn't know what to act on.

She turned her gaze back towards Jack who was squatting next to the stone and looking carefully at the ground. She followed his gaze but didn't seem anything out of the ordinary. She didn't disturb him, knowing that whenever he was ready he would tell her what he was thinking. Reaching into a coat pocket Jack pulled out a handkerchief and carefully sifted through the grass there. A moment later she saw what he had been looking for. It was something that glinted in the dim light of the work lights the police had put up for the medevac team. When he retrieved the object she saw that it looked like a little ornate dagger. As Jack stood up, she moved closer to examine it.

'Is that glass?' She asked. The dagger was tiny, fitting easily into the palm of Jack's hand as it rested on the white handkerchief. He nodded. The tip was tinged red and she stifled the urge to shudder. 'That couldn't have done all that damage though, could it?'

'No idea, but I doubt it,' Jack said absently as he tilted his hand to examine the dagger. 'It was used in the ceremony, however. I wonder who dropped it?'

'Do you think we'll get something off of it?' Gwen asked, almost entranced by the light glinting off the blade. She blinked when Jack decisively wrapped the little dagger in the handkerchief and stuck it in an inside pocket of his greatcoat.

'We'll get something, definitely,' he said with a nod. Turning away from her he kept a careful eye on the medics. They were ready to transport the patient to the UNIT facility. As if making a decision, Jack nodded to himself. 'Gwen, go with them. I'll head back to site A and pick up Ianto, then we'll meet you up in Snowdon. I don't want Harburson or anyone questioning this man, understood?'

Gwen nodded. She knew she felt the same fierce protectiveness as Jack did in regards to this case. She watched the medics as Jack moved off to talk to Ianto over the coms. She could hear what was going on, but ignored the conversation in favor of paying attention to Harburson as he hustled back over to where they stood. She intercepted him before he could get to Jack and talked to him about the case, giving him enough information to keep him occupied without telling too much. She also noticed that Aeron James was now standing beside her and from his stance she could tell that he liked the idea of UNIT interfering even less than she did.

'So what now?' DCI James asked when the Colonel went to go answer a call. 'We hand everything over to those louts?'

'Hardly,' Gwen said. She smiled at him. 'This started in Cardiff and it will end there. We might take UNIT's help upon occasion, but this is our case.'

'Who trumps who in this instance, though?' James asked. Gwen laughed softly.

'The crown always trumps, Aeron. Don't worry about that one. Besides,' she said as she gestured to where Jack was striding back in their direction. 'Do you think he would allow some military martinet to take over?' James turned and watched as Jack walked towards them with a determined look on his face and shook his head.

'No, I certainly can't see that,' he said ruefully. He did feel a certain amount of glee at the thought of Jack being the one to go head to head with UNIT rather than himself.

'So?' Gwen asked as Jack finally was close enough to speak.

'It's all settled. I'll go back now and pick up Ianto, then head over,' Jack said. He looked at Aeron James. 'Your ride is heading back, so if you don't want to walk, you had better come with me. Unless you want to deal with them,' he said with a gesture towards the knot of local police and UNIT personnel who were milling about. James shook his head and Jack grinned. 'Thought not. Let's head back.' He turned towards Gwen. 'See you in a bit.'

Gwen nodded and watched as the two men walked off to the helicopter whose blades were already rotating. She turned away, not needing to see them leave. What was going on here on the ground was far more important.

The two medics had just moved their patient to a gurney and Gwen winced in sympathy at the whimper the man made despite the amount of drugs going through his system. She walked with them, helping them move the gurney over the uneven ground. Every bump and jostle made her feel for the man. Even with their careful maneuvering it was still an uncomfortable journey. It seemed to take forever to get to the medevac helicopter, but they finally made it. The man crawled inside and with Gwen and the woman pushing, they hauled the gurney into position and locked it down. The first medic indicated a seat for Gwen and told her to strap in. The second took a place next to the gurney and a few moments later they were in the air. They received their instructions to go to the UNIT base and headed in the direction of Snowdon.

'Who would do something like this?' The woman asked Gwen, who only shrugged in response. She pulled her leather jacket around her, feeling a chill that wasn't caused by the early evening air.

'That's what we're trying to find out,' she replied. 'And stop them from doing it again.'

'Did I hear you correctly that there were two other victims so far?' The woman asked, her lined face frowning with worry. Gwen nodded. 'Dear Lord! Is this a satanic ritual or something?'

'Not quite,' Gwen responded. 'But we're learning more with each site we find, so hopefully we can stop them before they move again. Keeping this man alive and hopefully speaking with him will be a great help.' She looked down at the young man who was probably in his early 20's and smoothed his hair back out of his face. He wore his hair long, and his face was the only area not marked with the thorns. 'I want to know what could make anyone volunteer for this.'

'You think he was a willing victim?' The woman asked in surprise. Gwen nodded and looked up at the medic. She saw by the name tag on the woman's jacket that her surname was Picton. She could imagine that the woman had never run into something like this before.

'We think so,' she acknowledged. 'But we don't have a lot of information at the moment.' She put out a hand against the inside wall of the helicopter as it banked into a turn. The medic just swayed as she continued to monitor the man's vital signs, used to the motion of the helicopter. They remained quiet after that and Gwen was happy to see that they made good time to Base 5. It was her first time at this particular UNIT base. Until Jack got there she was going to have to pull rank on anyone who tried to interfere with the case. She was counting on Harburson to behave himself, but she was prepared to push people around if she had to.

As they approached the landing area, Gwen could see a medical team was waiting for them to land. She could hear the other medic passing along information as they descended. She kept out of the way while they maneuvered the gurney out of the medevac and onto the tarmac before scrambling after them. It was all medical personnel, but she was prepared to run interference until Jack got there. She just hoped it was soon.


	14. Chapter 14

Jack arrived to find Gwen standing outside the door to the patient's room, barring the entryway from several military looking types. He sighed and Ianto glanced over at him briefly, reading his thoughts from his reaction. Ianto was looking battered and bruised and a bit worse for wear at the moment, but he was still acting under his own power, despite the great drain the day had been on him. That in itself was a miracle in Gwen's opinion as she watched them approach. Colonel Harburson trailed behind them, his bulk making it hard to keep up with the pace of the two men from Torchwood.

'This is our facility, we have the right to question the patient,' one of the officers whinged petulantly. Gwen didn't budge.

'Do it and we move him,' Jack said in a clipped tone that brooked no argument from the people milling before him. They started, surprised by his sudden appearance and one of the junior officers gulped when they looked him in the face. Jack turned back towards Harburson.

'This one is Torchwood's,' the man said gruffly. 'They have the lead on this one.' Jack gave him a curt nod.

'We'll share what we have when we can but right now you are impeding our ability to get this done, so let's all be friends and you can get out of our way until we're ready to talk to you.' Jack flashed a charming smile at the group of officers outside the door. The man in front could see his CO standing behind the Torchwood team and Colonel Harburson shook his head warningly. Reluctantly the man acquiesced and stepped away from the door. The others in the group followed his lead, clearing the doorway in front of Gwen. Jack pivoted in place and kept his eye on the group for a long moment before dismissing them and turning back to Gwen.

'What's the status?' He asked in a low voice, knowing that the UNIT officers were still behind him. Ianto moved into position so that the two men blocked Gwen from sight.

'He's stable,' Gwen said. 'They're in the process of removing the thorns. I figured that getting that drug out of him was a first priority and that you wouldn't mind someone else doing it.' Reflexively she wiggled her fingers. It had been hard work with the tweezers and she knew she was glad to have someone else do it this time. Jack nodded and peered over her shoulder through the window. He stared at the team working over the young man on the table and sighed. Ianto glanced sideways at him, but said nothing.

In a mercurial change of mood Jack spun back towards the colonel. 'You still have the best café in UNIT here?' Colonel Harburson grinned in response and patted his stomach.

'Correction Captain, we have the best damned café of any organisation, anywhere,' he said. Jack glanced down at the colonel's rather large frame before looking back up with a chuckle. 'And right now, that's the best damned idea you've had yet. Let's get some grub and maybe I can wheedle a few more details out of you.'

'Depends on how good the grub is,' Jack said, his posture releasing some of the tautness that had been there since he had arrived on the scene back in Llwynywermod. He nodded to Ianto who took position in the doorway and motioned Gwen to go with Jack.

'You don't need to do that,' Colonel Harburson said. 'No one here will bother the patient. I've given my word and my staff will follow. Besides son, you look like death warmed over. Need to get some food into you.'

Jack turned and glanced from Gwen to Ianto. 'I agree. I trust Richard to make sure that no one will disturb the patient. The goal right now is to stabilize him enough to get some answers. Besides, the food is really good here, if I remember correctly from my last visit.' He exchanged a look with Ianto who nodded in response. Ianto offered his arm to Gwen who took it, knowing that it wasn't an act of chivalry so much as a request for support. They were determined to show no weakness in front of UNIT, but their resources were sadly depleted after the day they had had. The three Torchwood personnel followed behind the colonel, the UNIT staff parting to let them pass.

#

'He's impossible.' Gwen sat with her chin in hand as she watched Jack and Richard Harburson laugh as they talked at a nearby table. She was annoyed at her boss at the moment who had gone from being adversarial to downright jovial with the UNIT commander. 'I just don't know how to read him sometimes,' she muttered as she stared intently at the two.

'Jack Harkness defies reading,' Ianto commented as he wiped the crumbs off the table and pooled them onto his napkin. 'You'll just give yourself a headache if you think about it too much.'

'How do you stand it?' Gwen asked, turning to glance at her team mate. 'If it drives me mad at times it must drive you absolutely nutters.' Ianto shrugged.

'Jack is Jack. There is no standing anything because once you accept that, you accept him for what he is,' he finally commented. They had been sitting in the café for the last hour and Ianto was grateful for the respite. He was bone tired and not inclined to care much about what his boss did at the moment. They had a relationship which defied classification, and when it came to Torchwood, Ianto was inclined to follow Jack's lead. It wasn't that Jack was always right – far from it. But until there was a reason to question his decision or actions regarding something they were doing, Ianto was inclined to let it go. He definitely wasn't minded to examine it the way Gwen always wanted to.

'The way he's acting right now he could hand this whole thing over to UNIT and leave us without any answers,' she said darkly. Ianto only shook his head. Jack would do no such thing. He was, what he would no doubt tell them later, in the act of buttering Harburson up. Ianto had seen him do it enough times that the pattern was very recognisable.

'Jack won't do that,' he said and pushed back his chair to stand a heartbeat before Jack did the same. Gwen shook her head. She let Ianto take their trash and put it in the bin before they approached Jack and the Colonel.

'I have a hunch that our patient might be ready now. Shall we go see?' Jack asked. Gwen nodded and slanted a glance at the Colonel. 'Richard, if we find out anything, you'll be the first to know.'

'Right,' the other man said. He gave a nod to Jack's subordinates and strolled off in the other direction.

'Did you slip something into his coffee?' Gwen asked suspiciously as she peered after the man. Jack only chuckled but shook his head.

'Didn't need to. All the man wanted was some information. So I gave him enough to whet his appetite but not enough to really tell him anything,' Jack said as he indicated the doorway with his hand. Gwen started out, followed by the two men. 'This way he knows more than his staff and can look superior, and that's all that matters.'

'Got to love the military mind,' Ianto said softly and Jack looked at him. He opened his mouth but Ianto forestalled him with a raised hand. 'And before you ask, I'm fine. Even though the coffee was burnt.'

'Tasted all right to me,' Gwen said as she pressed the button for the lift that would take them back to the floor that their patient was on. She didn't bother to look back at her colleague. 'Don't roll your eyes at me.'

'Didn't,' Ianto said in an unruffled tone. 'I'm long past the point of being shocked by your dilapidated taste buds.'

'That's because she's eaten too many of Rhys' curries,' Jack quipped as the trio entered the lift. This time it was Gwen who rolled her eyes in response. Ianto leaned back against the wall, casually crossing his arms, but Jack kept a careful eye on him.

'Oh, as if takeaway all the time has nothing to do with it,' she countered. They bickered amiably to one another all the way down the hallway and past the posted guard who stood stiffly at attention while they walked. Gwen noticed with amusement the look of confusion on the young man's face as he listened to some of the things they were saying, but her attention was diverted by their arrival at the door of their patient's room. Jack had relaxed, knowing that if Ianto were feeling chipper enough to be snarky that he was feeling well enough to work. They hadn't had a chance to talk since the working earlier in the day and while Jack was concerned, it wasn't enough for him to make them stop and assess what was going on. He wanted them to get through what they could before they had to circle back and discuss everything that had gone on that day. He stopped by the door and looked in.

All was quiet. Their victim was lying on the hospital bed, all signs of the staff gone along with the thorns that had pierced his skin. Their marks still remained as a mute reminder to what had happened to him, but a quick glance at the monitoring equipment proved that his vital signs were stable. Gwen stifled a sigh of relief. This man represented their first real break in this case and she was hoping against hope that he would be able to shed some light on the group and what they were trying to do.

Jack passed a keycard over the sensor to unlock it, opening the door and motioning for Ianto and Gwen to enter. Ianto indicated that Gwen should go first before following behind her. Jack entered and closed the door behind him, turning the lock and closing the blinds a bit to give them privacy from anyone passing by.

Ianto moved to stand on the other side of the bed from where Gwen had paused and stared down at the man. Gwen watched him and wondered what he was thinking as he carefully lifted the sheet and scanned the man's body before tucking it back around him. Jack crossed his arms, waiting for them to make whatever assessments that they were going to make. Gwen picked up the chart, shaking her head over how much skill she had gained in her years at Torchwood that she actually understood what she was looking at.

'Doctor Cooper?' Jack asked, his voice laced with amusement. 'What can you tell me?'

'Nothing that you couldn't find out for yourself,' she retorted with a pointed glance at the leather clad wrist strap. 'And probably in more detail, too.' Ianto snorted softly in response as Jack grinned.

'Now where is the fun in that?' He asked as his second gazed at him with a sour expression on her face. 'Uh, uh, uh, careful, your face will get stuck like that if you do that any longer.'

'Oh for the love of God,' she muttered, suddenly losing patience after the day they'd had. She dropped the chart down onto the bed. 'This isn't supposed to be about having fun, Jack. This is about getting information. This man almost died out there! It's a miracle that we not only got there in time but that we had these facilities here able to help this man. It isn't a game, Jack.'

'No, it isn't,' he agreed equitably. 'But technology doesn't have all the answers, either. Don't discount the human eye and intuition, Gwen.' Gwen could see Ianto was tapping into his PDA and she looked from Jack to what Ianto was doing. 'And the two together can be a winning combination,' Jack finished and leaned against the end of the bed. 'Anything?'

Ianto was frowning as he gazed at the display in front of him. 'Elevated serotonin levels of course, which is to be expected. And rather than wait for UNIT to do a toxicology on the blood, I've taken a sample myself,' he went on, indicating the lead that snaked out of the bottom of the PDA and under the man's skin. He looked up. 'If I'm reading this right, at least one of the hallucinogens they used was henbane.' Jack raised an eyebrow in speculation.

'Henbane?' Gwen asked, not familiar with the word. Ianto nodded and he looked across the bed in her direction.

'Yes, a local variety of plant that can cause hallucinations. Some people have said that it makes them believe they can fly. So presumably the sacrifice was offering themselves up on the altar to be consumed by their heavenly god or goddess,' Ianto told her. 'But there are a lot of other chemicals showing up as well.'

'Like what?' Jack asked, his attention focused on Ianto.

'Thujone is pretty prominent,' Ianto responded. He continued before Gwen could ask what it was. 'You would know it as wormwood, and it can affect the central nervous system.'

'Someone knows their herbs and plants,' Jack muttered with a frown. Ianto nodded in response and pulled the lead out from under the man's skin. 'What else?'

'Hyoscyamine, which probably comes from belladonna,' Ianto replied. 'That is commonly used to create euphoria and sexual arousal. Which might explain part of the sacrifice, but not why they are sacrificing their acolytes.' He tapped on the screen. 'A lot of these are residuals of the ones I've already mentioned, but I'm sure if they're using traditional herb lore that it is a mix of whatever herbs are considered the most potent.'

'As well as whatever is in season,' Jack commented. 'So we know the what, but not the why.' He stared intently at the man in the bed.

'Which why?' Ianto asked and Jack glanced up at him in surprise. 'Why he was a willing sacrifice or why they are now doing human sacrifices?'

'And who is to say he is a willing victim?' Gwen asked. Both men looked in her direction. 'Well, judging by what you said is in his bloodstream, maybe he was given something that made him a willing sacrifice.'

'Maybe,' Jack said, considering the idea. 'It would make sense, though if it were done for religious fervor then the hallucinogens would have nothing to do with the willingness of the victim. The personal ecstasy of sacrificing oneself might be enough of an impetus.' He stared intently at the man and Gwen wondered if he was trying to just figure it all out by just looking at him. She turned back to the man and studied him.

'We're being stupid,' she muttered and reached into the bag slung over her shoulder. Opening it, she rummaged deep inside, looking for something.

'Pardon?' Ianto commented, sharing a mystified glance with Jack. Gwen let out a noise of triumph, pulling her own PDA out of the bag. Holding it over the man's face, she took a photo, and then tapped the screen.

'I'm using my intuition,' she told him as she worked. 'Which also happens to use some handy technology as well.' Jack didn't comment but waited for her to continue. 'You know what? We're getting sloppy.'

'Us? Sloppy? How?' Jack asked, who didn't seem perturbed by Gwen's declaration. In fact, he seemed annoyingly amused by her exclamation. That in itself aggravated her even more.

'Oh, where do I begin?' Ianto commented dryly.

'Hey! I didn't ask you!' Jack said in an affronted voice as he turned and looked at Ianto. 'I was talking to her.' He gestured in Gwen's direction. 'How are we sloppy?'

'By not using the skills and technology we have in front of us,' Gwen replied. 'Such as that computer program that Tosh put together for us that allows us to do some rather serious facial recognition.' Ianto sighed as he realized what she was doing. 'And with some luck,' she continued as she stared intently at the screen which was flipping through images faster than her eye could track, 'we'll get an I.D. And that should get us some information which will be useful.'

'Very good,' Jack said approvingly, as if he were proud of her accomplishment. 'See? Nothing beats human intuition.'

'Unless you're hiding a royal straight flush,' Ianto commented as he bent over the bed and lifted one of the man's eyelids. He then urged the man's mouth open and shone a small torch in the throat. Jack moved around from the end of the bed and leaned against the side to see what Ianto was doing.

'Good teeth,' he commented. 'That's unusual in itself for the British Isles.' Both of his operatives shot him sour glances and he grinned before turning his attention back to what Ianto was doing. 'What are you looking for now?' He was curious now about what they might find.

'Whether our friend ingested anything during the ritual,' Ianto replied. 'At least see if there are any traces in the mouth.' He reached for the jar with the cotton swabs on the nightstand and scraped it against the side of the man's cheek. 'Could you get a baggie for me, please?' He asked. Jack reached into a coat pocket and retrieved a crumpled piece of plastic. After making sure it didn't have any tears, he held it open under Ianto's hand, letting the other man drop the swab into the bag. Sealing it, he placed it on the tray. Jack turned his attention to Gwen, but she was still staring at the screen in her hands.

'I think we've done everything we can right now,' he finally said as Ianto stood up with a sigh. The long day was finally getting to him. Jack looked over at Gwen again who was almost cross-eyed as she focused on her PDA. 'I think it's time to get some rest and take turns watching our friend here.'

'But I'll be getting results any minute,' Gwen protested. She gave Jack a look of annoyance before glancing back down at her screen.

'Sure, so set an alarm. Beats staring at the screen and willing a result,' Jack told her. He moved around the bed and pulled a chair from against the wall, dragging it over to where Ianto was standing. He hadn't missed that the other man was leaning against the bed for support. 'Sit down before you fall over.'

'I'm fine, Jack,' Ianto said, but didn't really fight as the other man put a hand on his shoulder and forced him to sit down. He was on the last dregs of his reserves and the headache he had avoided earlier was lurking just on the edges of his mind. He let out a sigh and leaned his head back against Jack's stomach as the other man began to massage his shoulders. 'Oh, that's good.'

'Thought it might be,' Jack said with a smile. 'Gwen, time for us to take a break. Chances are this guy is going to be out for a while. And once he comes back he's going to be completely disoriented, at least until the drugs are out of his system. And once they are, we'll have a man with some issues on our hands.' Gwen blinked at him blearily, trying to follow his thought process but failing after the day they had all had. 'We don't know what his mental state is going to be. If he was indeed willing before the drugs hit his system then we'll be dealing with a man who will be pretty disappointed to be alive. He will have failed whatever it was that they were attempting to accomplish. Add to that he's also been castrated and well, that is going probably be an issue as well.' He was working his fingers up the back of Ianto's neck, slowly digging into the tense muscles that he found there. 'Relax!' He commanded.

'I am relaxed,' Ianto murmured, totally lost in what Jack was doing with his hands. He ignored the scraping of the chair that Gwen dragged over as she finally gave into reason and sat down. She heaved out a heavy sigh and sat back, her PDA on the bed still working away at the facial recognition program. He closed his eyes and just let Jack administer one of the best massages he had ever had in his life. The impending headache began to retreat and he let out a long sigh.

Jack looked down at the man seated before him. Ianto had certainly taken one for the team again. He never complained and just went about his work. Jack glanced up and looked at Gwen, who had rested her head on her arms as she leaned against the bed. They had both gone above and beyond the call of duty, pushing themselves to their limits and beyond. The recent events brought home to him once again the need to recruit and bring on more people. He just needed to find the right ones.

'I'm so tired,' Gwen moaned, her voice muffled by her arms. 'Ianto, how can you even be conscious? You were barely standing the last time, but this time you're still functioning. I don't know how you did it.'

'I had help this time,' Ianto admitted. He rolled his head from side to side as the muscles loosened further.

'Yeah, about that,' Jack finally commented, the tone of his voice making Gwen look up at him. A glance confirmed what his voice had warned, which was that his face had that shuttered and closed down look. Whatever it was that had assisted them in the working had him on edge. 'Ianto, what did you see?'

'Didn't see much of anything,' Ianto replied slowly. 'There was a lot of stuff swirling in the circle. And it wasn't what I saw so much as what I felt.' Jack nodded. Some of it had come through their link. Gwen sat up straighter. Emotions were something she understood. It led to her intuitive leaps of judgment. To hear Ianto make a comment like that definitely caught her attention.

'So what did you feel?' Jack asked as he loosened Ianto's tie and undid the top button of his shirt, seeking to relax him further. Ianto didn't protest and Gwen could tell that he wasn't even aware of what Jack had done. 'Can you tell us?'

Ianto paused for a long moment while he considered his answer. 'How does one describe awe? Jack, I know where you're going to go with this one, but I just can't articulate it very well. If I were to take a leap, I would have said that we were in the presence of an angel.' Gwen nodded. It had been her thought, too. Jack sighed and Ianto opened his eyes to look upwards. 'You're thinking an alien, aren't you?'

'It's more probable than a biblical being,' Jack responded. Gwen shook her head at him.

'Jack,' Gwen remonstrated. 'Have a little faith here. Why not an angel? After all, we were dealing with a pretty horrific pagan ritual. Why wouldn't a higher being take notice of what we were doing and assist us?'

'And why wouldn't an alien, if they got something out of the deal as well?' Jack asked in a reasonable tone. 'And why didn't it help the last time we did this at the museum?' The two looked at him mutely for a moment. 'Aliens don't always know how to take the lift.'

'Oh, come on Jack!' Gwen exclaimed. 'Is it so hard to believe in divine intervention? Maybe it didn't help last time because it knew we could handle it, but this time with the two sites it was just too much.' She turned to look at Ianto. 'What did you feel?'

'Besides feeling rather insignificant and humble?' Ianto asked with a shaky laugh as he sought to remember the moment. He closed his eyes and thought, tilting his head back as if he were looking up at whatever being had appeared above the standing stone. 'Strength,' he went on. 'Anger, but not at me. I would call it righteous anger.' Jack sighed, wondering how much Ianto was now thinking of things after the fact or whether it was something that had really happened. He couldn't deny that they had some help from something. Jack bowed his head and groaned, making both Ianto and Gwen look at him anxiously.

'I'm stupid,' he muttered as he removed his hands from Ianto's shoulders. He flipped open the cover of his vortex manipulator and stared at it intently. 'Before we started this afternoon I set this to record, because I wanted a record for the archives. I also set the cameras in the SUV to do the same.' He tapped at the screen and frowned.

'What is it?' Gwen asked. 'What did you get?' Jack looked up with a frown.

'Nothing.' He shook his head. 'That's impossible.' He tapped again at his controls, but there was a period of time that was just blank. There was a recording but it was just black. 'I'll have to check the SUV when we get back.'

'I bet it will be the same,' Ianto replied. 'A large electromagnetic pulse would do something like that.'

'No, not to this,' Jack said and pointed a finger to his wrist strap. 'It would be impervious.' He looked rather unhappy, though. Because it meant that something had the ability to cloak itself to his technology, or it was indeed metaphysical in nature and therefore unable to be recorded by anything other than human senses.

'Maybe whatever it was defies definition,' Gwen suggested. They thought about that for a moment before a low moan distracted them. Gwen spun around to look at the man in the bed. 'Is he conscious already?'

'We have been here a while,' Ianto said with a glance towards his watch. 'With the thorns removed, the drugs would probably leave his system.' Jack moved past him to the head of the bed where he bent over the man and scanned him with his vortex manipulator.

'Anything?' Gwen asked. Jack shook his head and then frowned, tapping the manipulator. 'Did you break it?'

'No,' Jack said and pointedly turned away from her. Ianto stifled a tired chuckle at their interaction. 'Just odd.'

'What's odd?' Ianto didn't have the strength to get up and look. So he decided to be forthright and just ask Jack for the answer.

'By all rights this man should have died on the stone,' Jack murmured. He turned and leaned across the bed, picking up the chart that Gwen had dropped earlier. Jack scanned the chart and then looked back at his manipulator, shaking his head. 'In fact, I think he was dead.'

'Was?' Ianto asked. 'Obviously he isn't now so how did that happen?'

'Divine intervention?' Gwen asked and the two men stared at her across the bed. 'Well, do you have a better idea?'

'The thought of a supreme being taking an interest in what we do gives me the willies,' Jack said with an overtly theatrical shudder. 'Call me a cynic, but in the end it is always some alien playing god in a lower tech world.' He watched as Gwen got up and went over to the bed as their victim moaned again. She scanned his face, wondering whether they would finally get the answers that they needed in order to stop the Adoliat from doing this again. She thought about what Jack had just said. This man had been clinically dead and something had brought him back to life. She wondered whether it was a mercy, given his physical state. She tried to think of why someone would be willing to sacrifice themselves in something like this and couldn't come up with an answer. She stared down pensively at the man as he slowly came back to consciousness.

'Hi,' she said in a low voice. 'My name is Gwen,' she continued, the lilt of her Welsh accent softening the words. 'I'm here to help you.'

'Who?' The man croaked out as he stared blearily at the face hovering above him. 'Where?'

'You're in hospital,' Gwen said, tucking the sheet around the young man's shoulders. She heard a faint ping from her PDA and she smiled before sliding it up the bed to where she could see it. 'Daniel, is it?' She asked after glancing down at the device. 'Daniel, we're here to help.' The young man stared up at her with a look of incomprehension, as if he didn't understand what she was saying. Jack was about to step in and intervene when a horrified expression crossed the man's face and he began to scream after seeing Jack. He was babbling and both Jack and Ianto had to help restrain him, since his limbs were flailing about. Gwen tried to reason with him, to talk to him and calm him down, but it was obvious that he was extremely agitated. It took time to get him to stop, and to finally get something coherent out of him. Gwen took her time, cajoling him to talk. Eventually Jack and Ianto had to back off; as it seemed like the man was less hysterical when he was only focused on her. Ianto pulled Jack through the doorway, though it was difficult getting him to move.

'She can handle herself,' he told Jack who had been still protesting the eviction. 'Trust her.'

'I do,' Jack said as he peered through the gap in the blinds. 'I just don't trust him. That man is not sane, Ianto.'

'No, I don't suppose he is,' Ianto agreed mildly. 'But he also wasn't reacting to her, he was reacting to us.' Jack sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair. 'So he's been programmed to respond to women in some way and sees other males as a threat.'

'Which tells us what?' Jack asked as he leaned against the window he had previously been peering through.

'Could be any number of things. Perhaps the group is made up of all women and the only male involved is the sacrificial victim,' Ianto suggested. Jack had a thoughtful look on his face has he considered that possibility. 'Maybe he was brainwashed into wanting to be a sacrifice.'

'That wouldn't explain why he reacted so violently to the sight of me,' Jack said. He could still hear Gwen's voice murmuring through the glass wall behind him. 'As if I was a threat.'

'Maybe you were,' Ianto replied. 'Depending on what he remembers, maybe seeing another male is an indication that someone else had been selected to represent them in the sacrifice instead of him.'

'Maybe,' Jack said with a frown. Something about this tickled at his memory, but when he tried to chase after the thought it skittered out of touch. He began pacing, not noticing that Ianto had moved over to the window sill to sit down. Had he been more observant he would have noticed the trembling in the other man's hands. Ianto saw it though, and he firmly clasped his hands over his knees. He didn't want Jack to notice. The headache that had been lurking in the back of his head came to the forefront with a rush and he closed his eyes and bit his lip to stop himself from crying out in pain. He swallowed, trying to hold down the nausea that also threatened his equilibrium.

Jack was oblivious. Back and forth he paced the length of the corridor, from the door where their victim lay to the window sill where Ianto sat. He stared down at the scuffed tiles, deep in thought. The sound of the door squeaking open drew his attention and he moved back as Gwen slipped out of the opening and closed the door behind her.

'Well?' He asked. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

'Well,' she echoed. 'He's not too coherent. No surprise there. And he definitely felt threatened by you and Ianto in the room.' She turned towards her teammate and frowned, distracted for a moment. 'Sweetheart, are you okay?' She asked, brushing past Jack. He looked up, startled by her comment and noticed that Ianto was looking rather green. Cursing himself for his inattention, he followed her to the other end of the hallway.

'I'm fine,' Ianto said hoarsely. He had his eyes closed. 'Please, go on.'

'No, I don't think so,' she replied. She looked reproachfully at Jack who held his hands up as if trying to ward off her disapprobation. 'I think you need to lie down, Ianto.' She pursed her lips as she brought her hand up to feel his forehead. Ianto leaned into her touch, unable to argue any longer. 'Think you can stand? I'm pretty sure this wing is empty except for us.'

'Yeah,' Ianto responded. He pushed off the sill and stood up shakily. Jack immediately moved to his other side to support him and Ianto tried not to sag against him.

'I'll carry you if I have to,' Jack told him as he wrapped his arm around Ianto and helped him walk to the closest door which was right next to the room where their victim lay. 'Really, Ianto. You knew this was going to happen.'

'No, I didn't know,' Ianto muttered as Gwen tsked and opened the door. He stopped her from turning on the light. 'Don't, it will only bother me. Just help me over to the bed.' Together they shuffled over and Jack helped Ianto up onto the bed. Ianto lay down immediately, a clear sign that he wasn't feeling very well at all. He closed his eyes and rested his arm over them to block out the light from the hall. 'Oh, should have done this earlier.'

'Yeah, you should have,' Jack murmured. He pulled off Ianto's shoes and moved to loosen his belt, ignoring the noise of protest that Ianto made. 'Don't worry, you can keep your clothes on. But you're not going to be very comfortable with this stabbing into you.' Jack wiggled the buckle as he pulled the leather out of the loops and let it dangle onto the bed. 'Though I'd be happy to get naked with you if that would make you more comfortable.'

'It won't, sorry,' Ianto muttered. He was pretty sure he heard Gwen stifling a chuckle. The last thing he needed was an amorous Jack at the UNIT base with a Torchwood investigation going on. Especially one that had some many unresolved issues. 'Focus, Jack.'

'Oh, I'm very focused at the moment,' Jack murmured. Ianto felt his breath against his cheek, but didn't respond. He concentrated on his breathing as a way to control his nausea. It was helping, but barely. At least Jack was proving to be a distraction, which was exactly his intention. He was busy undoing the knot in Ianto's tie. He also encouraged Gwen to continue. Ianto listened to her talking and used that as a focal point for ignoring the way he was feeling. He knew it was going to be a hard crash, but hadn't anticipated the way it ended up happening. When he didn't suffer a backlash at first he thought he had gotten lucky. He should have known it would have been too much to ask for that he not have a reaction. Resolutely he ignored how he was feeling and concentrated on what she was saying.

'… so I think that's all we're going to get out of him for now. But he was disoriented enough that I got far more than I had been expecting,' she told Jack. 'Whether his information is still valid is a question.'

'Yeah, true,' Jack commented as he leaned against the wall next to the bed in which Ianto lay. 'We have to assume that the minute they felt that working snap that they would be warned someone was interfering with them. The question is whether they know whether he survived or not. If they are smart, they'd assume he did survive and that we would have a method of extracting information. If they're arrogant and think themselves impervious, they might be just cocky enough to stay put.'

'You know where they are?' Ianto asked. He started to open his eyes and sit up, but Jack placed a hand on his chest and pushed him back down again. 'Jack.'

'That's my name, don't wear it out,' Jack told him, not looking down. He was still staring at Gwen with an intense look on his face. 'Let me see your PDA.' Gwen gave him an odd look as he held out his hand. 'I can tie it into the mainframe and see if we can get some satellite readings from the location. Heat signatures, that sort of thing.' He felt Ianto fumbling underneath his hand and looked down. Ianto had pulled his own PDA out and handed it to Jack. Jack frowned. He had to be in bad shape if he didn't even make an attempt to do the search himself. 'How are you feeling, Ianto?'

'Been better,' Ianto said through gritted teeth. He felt the PDA leave his hand as Jack took it. He took shallow breaths, hoping that he could control the urge to vomit before he actually had to do something about it. With Gwen on one side of him and Jack on the other, it didn't leave him much in the way of options. He drifted in a haze as he heard Jack and Gwen talking over him. The feeling of Jack's hand resting on his chest was a reassuring anchor. Anchor, he thought. Jack had been that and more over the past week. He let his thoughts drift, thinking on the impressions from earlier. Had it indeed been an angel that had helped them or just another alien with an agenda? He wasn't the religious sort, so he thought that his natural scepticism would have had him leaning towards Jack's explanation. But something told him that assumption was wrong. He felt the mattress sag as Jack leaned against it and worked on the PDA. A hand brushed through his hair and he knew from the gentle touch that it was Gwen who was looking after him.

'Gwen, you need to rest as well,' he finally said while she waited for Jack to come up with something on his search.

'I'm fine love,' she said. He could hear the smile in the tone of her voice.

'Ianto's right, Gwen. We're all knackered. Why not go hit one of the beds on the other side of Daniel?' Jack asked. 'I'll be here to make sure Ianto gets some rest.'

'Oh, is that what you're calling it now?' Gwen asked with a cheeky smile. Ianto chuckled tiredly and he felt her lips brush against his forehead. 'All right, I'll go. But only because I do need some sleep if we're going to catch these people. Ianto, don't let Jack misbehave, yeah?'

'Yeah,' Ianto responded. He reached out blindly and grasped her hand. 'Thanks, Gwen.'

'Don't mention it,' she responded. He could hear the warm affection in her voice and smiled faintly in response. 'And you, Captain, should get some rest as well,' she admonished. 'I know you say you don't sleep but you're beginning to look like something the cat dragged in.'

'I do not!' Jack said, affronted. 'You can't mess with perfection, Gwen.'

'You can after the week we've had,' she retorted. 'All right, do what you want. You're a grown man!' Ianto heard the door creak open and Gwen's muttering retreating as she closed it behind her. Jack chuckled softly and Ianto could hear another door closing somewhere down the hall. He was feeling a might bit better. At least he wasn't going to chuck it all, he thought to himself.

'Hey, scootch,' Jack said in a low voice. It look Ianto a minute to understand what he meant, but a moment later he moved over and felt the edge of the mattress sag as Jack climbed up beside him. 'There we go, nice and cozy.' He lay on his side, still looking at the PDA. Ianto wasn't looking at him but could hear him poking at the display, since it was right next to his ear.

'Please tell me you're not wearing your boots in bed,' Ianto asked him.

'Nah,' Jack said absently. 'They're hanging off the side. Hmmmm.'

'What?' Ianto asked. He opened his eyes but the room was dark. Turning his head he could see part of Jack's face in the glow of the PDA screen. 'Find something?'

'Not yet,' Jack said. He glanced over and saw that he was being watched. Making a decision, he put down the PDA though it still illuminated enough for Ianto to see his expression. 'That's enough for now. Feeling better?'

'A bit,' Ianto told him. 'Thank you for today. I don't think I could have gotten through that without you.' The two men stared at one another for a long moment, a lot left unsaid between them.

'That's why we're a team, Ianto. I would never ask you to do something like that on your own,' Jack said with a smile. He reached up and stroked Ianto's hair. 'Get some rest. We're not going to be able to do anything right now, and I need you at your best.' He wrapped himself around the other man before reaching somewhere over Ianto's head. A moment later Ianto heard a click and assumed that Jack had used his vortex manipulator to lock the door. 'There, alone at last.'

'Mmmm,' Ianto responded sleepily. He was past the nausea now but at the stage of total exhaustion. 'Yeah, just us and several platoons nearby.'

'Now that sounds like my idea of a perfect night,' Jack chuckled. He waited for a response and when he didn't receive one he held up the PDA as a torch. Ianto was asleep. Jack smiled fondly. It was probably a good thing. At least this way he didn't have to deal with an indignant response to his rather cheeky comment. Shifting about in the narrow hospital bed, Jack went back to work. He wasn't at all tired, and with luck by the time the others woke he might have tracked down the Adoliat. He felt a shiver of anticipation at the thought. The time for chasing shadows was over and they'd finally be able to stop whatever it was that was going on.


	15. Chapter 15

When Ianto woke, he was alone. It took him a few moments to get his bearings, but the sound of voices coming through the wall brought the events of the day before back to him. He sat up carefully, doing an internal assessment of how he felt. Overall, much better than the last time, he concluded. He grimaced with distaste as he realized he had slept in his suit. Sighing, he got up and tried to smooth the wrinkles that were undoubtedly there even though he couldn't see them in the darkened room. He fumbled around the headboard until he found a light switch. He blinked in the harsh glare. Ah, there were his shoes. He moved around the bed and stepped into them, buckling his belt. His tie was nowhere to be seen. Sighing, he looked around for a mirror. There was nothing in the room. He settled for combing his fingers through his hair before heading out the door.

Jack and Gwen stood out in the hall and they turned at the sound of the door opening.

'Good morning, sunshine,' Gwen said with a smile. She had seen Ianto in every possible state in their time together over the last few years. She thought he looked rather well considering the day they had the day before. He blinked at her before looking around. 'Loo's around the corner, in case you want to wash up.' He nodded and headed in that direction. Jack didn't say anything, but watched him carefully as he walked. Gwen watched him closely. 'He'll be fine, Jack.'

'Yeah,' he said. He shook his head and went back to the topic of their conversation. 'So the castration was an offering to the goddesses?' Gwen nodded. 'Nothing like taking what bit of a man he really wants to hold onto.'

'Well, if you're going to have a sacrifice, what would be more important than to give up something you wouldn't want to part with?' Gwen asked reasonably. She didn't miss Jack's shiver. She decided to tease him a bit. 'Oh, I've an idea. Maybe we should have you go undercover as a sacrifice. It's not like it won't come back after they kill you.'

'Gwen!' Jack said in a hurt voice. 'Would you really want me to do that?'

'I wouldn't,' Ianto responded as he walked towards them. He looked like he had washed up, droplets still beading his hair. 'Surely we can come up with something better than that.'

'Yeah, surely.' Jack said. He turned away from Gwen and strode towards Ianto. 'Feeling better?' Ianto nodded. 'Good. At least you didn't sleep for three days straight again.'

'Something to be said for Owen's little white pills,' Ianto told him. They shared a smile before Ianto went back to the subject at hand. 'What did I miss?' Jack turned and walked with him back to where Gwen was standing.

'Gwen was just telling me what she got out of Daniel. It's a power grab all right,' Jack told him. Ianto nodded. 'They're trying to raise up Blodeuwedd and Arianrhod. Stupid move, really.' He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. 'Why can't people leave well enough alone? Is it too much to ask for?'

'Of course not,' Gwen said. 'People are always looking for control or a quick fix without thinking of the consequences. And it sounds like they're getting pretty close, judging by what we've seen so far.' She sighed. 'At least we know where they are.'

'We think we know,' Jack corrected her. He pulled Ianto's PDA out of his trouser pocket. 'The question is whether they are still there.' He tapped the screen significantly. 'Want to go find out?'

'Yes,' Gwen and Ianto said in unison. Gwen continued on her own. 'Can we do it without our friend Harburson, and do we want to? The fire power he can bring might make a difference.' Jack thought about it for a moment.

'We can't go in guns blazing, as much as I want to. We need info. What they're trying to do, how much they've accomplished, and whether we'll actually be able to shut it all down. We're talking about waking the sleeping giants here,' Jack said. Ianto stared at him for a long moment.

'How giant?' He finally asked. 'Abaddon sized?'

'Yeah, possibly. Hopefully without the killer shadow,' Jack said. 'What do we have on our two goddessses?' Ianto thought back to what he knew from his previous research.

'Blodeuwedd is the spring goddess. She was made from blossoms, if I remember correctly,' he began. 'She betrayed her lord with another lover and they plotted to kill him. For that she was transformed into an owl.' Ianto thought for a moment. 'That might explain the birds over the sacrifice.'

'How so?' Jack asked.

'Natural enmity between other birds and owls. She is known as the death goddess,' Ianto continued. 'Arianrhod is the moon goddess, the goddess of fertility and she had a son whom she cursed.'

'So she has a thing against men,' Jack said with a nod. 'It explains much.'

'You think these women from the Adoliat are doing this to gain favor?' Gwen guessed. Jack shrugged. 'Well, for whatever it is worth, Daniel was willing to be the sacrifice, as were the others. Whether they were brainwashed into it or were true believers whatever that is, remains a question.' She started pacing and was about to say something else when the sound of footsteps coming down the hall warned them that they had company. Jack spun around to see two UNIT doctors approaching along with Colonel Harburson and several other personnel.

'I hear our patient is conscious,' Harburson said in a loud voice used to talking over others.

'Torchwood's patient,' Jack corrected with a smile. Harburson stopped while the doctors continued, entering the room. Shouting started as soon as they entered and Gwen hurriedly entered to intervene. 'And you better send female doctors because he's not going to let those two anywhere near him.' Something crashed against the wall but Jack ignored it. 'And yes, we have some information. We're going to need your help.' Colonel Harburson ignored the noise within the room and focused on what Jack had to say.

Jack explained that they had gotten some information but not enough to locate the cult that they were looking for. Harburson glanced at Ianto who stood impassively behind Jack, silently backing him up. Jack went on to talk about transferring their patient once he had been stabilized. Ianto stepped back and got on his mobile, dialing a familiar number at Flat Holm. At this point that remote island location would be the best place for their patient while they worked on the case. Leaving him at the UNIT base was simply not an option.

When he returned to the conversation, things were quiet in the hospital room. Gwen was standing just outside the door looking rather pleased with herself. Ianto glanced over to Jack who was still talking with the UNIT commander and working out the details. He told just enough to lead the man to believe that they hadn't had any good information from their victim and that he was totally useless in regards to UNIT's interests. Jack did it all in such an affable way that none of the personnel standing about suspected a thing. Ianto found out that Gwen had sedated their patient and that he was now ready for transport.

Jack was somehow able to talk Harbuson into loaning them a helicopter. They would handle the transport on their own. Gwen marveled that there wasn't a question about what they were going to do with the victim. Together, she and Ianto prepped Daniel for travel and followed Jack out of the base to the helicopter pad. As they loaded the gurney into the back of the helicopter, Jack stood on the tarmac and chatted with Colonel Harburson. The two men shook hands and Jack headed over to where they were. He climbed in the pilot's seat.

'All right kids? Everyone strap in, we're going for a ride,' Jack said as he pulled out a pair of sunglasses and put on the headphones that were sitting on the dash. Ianto sat in the seat next to him, leaving Gwen with their patient in the back.

'Jack, you do know how to fly one of these, right?' Gwen asked a bit nervously. Jack looked over his shoulder and gave her a thumbs up gesture and a hearty grin. Then he pointed to the stripes on his shoulder.

'Of course I do, how do you think I got these?' Jack asked. Because he had the headphones on he didn't hear Ianto's muttered response about acquiring them at an Army-Navy surplus store. Gwen heard though, and grinned as she put on her own headphones to protect her ears.

They were off moments later, Jack pointing them northeast. Gwen frowned for moment until she twigged onto the fact that they were heading back towards Llwynywermod. Of course, they had left the SUV there. It didn't take them long to get there by air, and as they circled over the field where so much had happened the day before she marveled that only hours had passed instead of days. In some ways it had felt like they had been working this case for a lifetime.

She listened as Jack and Ianto spoke, Ianto agreeing to drive the SUV back to Cardiff while Jack headed over to Flat Holm. He gave Gwen a choice of whom she wanted to go with. Inwardly she shuddered at the idea of returning to that bleak place that Torchwood ran for the poor victims of the rift, but in the end she opted to go with Jack, just so she could be there with Daniel in case he woke.

Jack dropped Ianto off and lifted up again as soon as the younger man had cleared the rotors. Gwen had a brief glance at his face as he looked up and shaded his eyes as he watched them leave. She gave him a little wave and turned away, concentrating on her patient when she heard a groan from the direction of the gurney. Jack remained silent as he pointed them in the direction of the southern Welsh coast and an island off the edge of Cardiff Bay.


	16. Chapter 16

Ianto returned to Cardiff, glad to be back at their home base. He was bone tired after the drive, opting to go straight home rather than stop for something to eat. He'd had nothing since the night before, so by the time he pulled into the underground car park, he was starving. Securing the vehicle, he entered through the secret door that led to the Hub. Locking it behind him, he headed up to the main concourse, lost in thought. A growl from the level below reminded him that he had the residents to care for so he detoured in that direction. By the time he had finished with the cleaning and feeding and had ordered some takeaway, he was ready to collapse for the night.

But he didn't. He sat at Tosh's old desk and logged in. They were behind in monitoring the rift and whether anything had been spat out that they needed to be careful about. While they had alarms for anything truly necessary, there was enough flotsam coming through intermittently to keep them busy, even on a slow period. With them so understaffed and with this major case taking up their attention, he was concerned that something was going to slip through the cracks on them and make even a larger mess for them or rather, for him to clean up.

While the computer sifted through the logs from the past couple of days he thought about getting up to make some coffee. He knew they'd all need it tonight. It took him a moment or two to get up the energy to push himself away from the console and go over to the kitchen. He was worried. This was the time when things normally happened, when their defenses were at a low from overwork. He hoped he was wrong, and he was determined to broach the topic of hiring additional personnel with Jack again. He and Gwen had both taken turns whittling down Jack on the subject and Ianto felt they were close to getting him to finally see reason. Besides, he thought he had caught a few potential recruits up in Snowdon in the commissary. Not that Harburson would be happy with them poaching, but it wouldn't be the first time Jack had done something like that. Ianto smiled. Jack had a knack for finding those people who had decent training but were a bit maverick when it came to following orders. They usually made the best operatives.

He went through the motions of brewing the coffee automatically, lost in thought. A tone sounded and he blinked, his tired thoughts taking a moment to catch up with what he had put in a reminder for. A flicker on a CCTV monitor reminded him. Dinner.

Putting down the mug that he had just cleaned, he took the lift up to the tourist centre. The lights were dim but as he glanced at the monitor behind the desk he could see that someone had pulled up and was heading towards the door. He turned on the outside lamp so that they could see and unlocked the door. It was the delivery boy, a rather cherub faced looking young man who was probably older than he looked. Which in Ianto's opinion was not old enough to drive. Ianto signed the slip and bid the man goodnight before locking down the centre and bringing the bags down the lift into the Hub again. He glanced at his watch. Jack and Gwen should be back soon.

Ianto left the bag on the table by the battered sofa and checked the rift logs. Surprisingly, all had been quiet. Well, except for some items that had drifted through, but the analysis was that none of them were pressing enough to retrieve. A short time later a proximity alarm went off and a glance towards the monitors showed the UNIT helicopter settling onto the Plass. Ianto shook his head. The local police weren't going to be too happy about that, but at least they'd probably blame UNIT over Torchwood, given the insignia on the body. He heard the invisible lift rumble to life and turned to pour the coffee.

By the time the lift lowered to the floor, Ianto was standing to one side with two mugs of coffee, one for Jack and another for Gwen. They both gratefully accepted the mugs as they stepped off the concrete platform. Jack smiled at Ianto, taking in the still rumpled appearance with a glance before turning around.

'Please tell me that's food,' he said as he headed in the direction of the coffee table which served as their makeshift dining table these days. Gwen sipped her coffee and closed her eyes for a moment, just savoring the flavor. Ianto poured himself a cup before heading over to where Jack was standing. He had already opened the bags and was digging amongst the containers. 'Indian is perfect.'

'Thought it would be,' Ianto replied. He sat down on the chair nearby that used to belong to Owen and stifled a sigh. He felt itchy and dirty from two days in the same clothing. But the priorities of making sure that everything was secure had overridden the need for a shower. As did the desire to eat. He moved in to pick up some pakura. Putting them on a plate he leaned back and watched as Jack and Gwen filled their plates and sat down on the sofa. He filled them in with a status update and could see that Gwen was visibly relieved that they didn't immediately have to deal with anything. They were all dog tired and could use a break.

Jack didn't bother to bring Ianto up to speed on what had happened at Flat Holm because he assumed that the other man would already have looked it up in the logs, which Ianto had. Once their hunger had been assuaged they began talking about coming up with a plan for hunting down the Adoliat. The longer they waited the more the possibility of the cult moving onto another location, but Jack also knew that they had hit the last of their reserves and needed to be fresh before having a confrontation. He also knew that they were going to need backup. He just needed to figure out how he was going to do it so that they stayed in charge of what was going on.

Gwen stifled a yawn as Jack dropped his plate in the garbage bin next to the sofa. 'Go home,' he told her. She blinked at him for a couple of minutes while she absorbed the command. 'Take a taxi. I don't want you driving tonight. Ianto...'

'Consider it done,' Ianto said. He rolled his chair over to Tosh's station and pulled up the website for one of the local taxis and made an online request. 'They'll be upstairs in a few moments.'

'I'm not arguing,' Gwen told them as she pushed herself off the sofa with a woof of air. 'I'm going home. I might re-introduce myself to my husband, since it's been so long I've seen him that he probably doesn't know what I look like anymore.'

'You do that,' Jack told her with a smile. 'Thanks, Gwen. We couldn't have done it without you.'

'Thank me later with a big fat raise,' Gwen said. She leaned down at her desk and picked up her handbag. 'I'm off. Don't stay up too late, lads.'

'No, ma'am,' Jack told her. A few moments later she was gone and the cog wheel door closed behind her with a clank. Jack rested his head back against the sofa. 'We have work to do.'

'Already on it,' Ianto said from where he was still sitting at the console. 'Bring some more of that korma, please.' He tapped on the keyboard and pulled up a map as Jack pulled up Gwen's chair, sitting down next to him and putting a container on the desk. 'I took the information that Gwen got for us and have narrowed the locations down to three potential areas. There's Ystradfellte and Ysgyryd Fawrup in the Beacons as well as Tinkinswood in Barry.' Jack leaned on the back of Ianto's chair as he looked at the map.

'So, tell me which one you think it is,' Jack suggested, his lips up against Ianto's ear. Ianto ignored him, used to Jack's mannerisms. He pulled up separate windows with satellite images of each location and aligned them precisely on the monitor. Beneath each of the satellite images he opened another window with some additional research notes. Jack didn't even question when he had had the time to do this, as he and Gwen hadn't been that far behind Ianto in arriving at the Hub. But then he had ceased being surprised by Ianto's resourcefulness some time ago. He rested his chin on Ianto's shoulder as he waited for an answer to his query.

'Based on the notes that Gwen took when she spoke with Daniel, the Adoliat had several criteria for locations. Usually the area needed to be seeped in mythological lore,' Ianto began. He gestured in the direction of the bottom notes and Jack could see that there was a bulleted list. Taken no doubt, Jack assumed, from Ianto's PDA from when they were up on Snowdon at the UNIT base. He took a moment to process what Ianto had said. Even with his usual lack of need for sleep Jack was feeling drained from the events of the last couple of days.

'That could be said for every square inch of this country,' Jack murmured. He felt Ianto chuckle in response. 'Please don't tell me we need to look for the grail or something like that.'

'No,' Ianto responded. 'Arthwr is decidedly not their type, being a strong male figure in the legends. Thankfully, he is not the focus of their cult.' He sighed and reached for the container with the korma. Jack had stuck a fork in it. Glancing down and seeing there wasn't much left Ianto ate out of the container. With just the two of them there wasn't the same need for niceties and besides, Jack had already finished eating. 'No, what we're looking for are locations with strong female affinity. They are in essence looking for a location where they can raise a goddess.'

'Or two,' Jack commented as he scanned the notes that Ianto had taken. 'Wait a minute,' he said as he reached out a finger and pointed at the screen. 'Are we dealing with aspects of the goddess as a trinity? If so, they aren't they also worshiping the crone as well?'

'Well, Blodeuwedd is the spring goddess, having been created with flowers. So that's a sign of fertility and growth. She's also known as the goddess of betrayal,' Ianto replied before taking another bite. 'She did kill her husband, after all. Perhaps that's where they got the idea that they had to physically harm their sacrifice,' he mused.

'Okay, so?' Jack asked. He was never one with a lot of patience and Ianto could feel his foot tapping impatiently on the base of his chair.

'Arianrhod is the aspect of the mother, yet another connection to fertility. Perhaps the reason whyCerridwen hasn't been added to their pantheon is that she is the goddess of the underworld and death. They are obviously trying to raise power through their ritual, and sex is obviously a focus. Though I suppose,' Ianto mused as he put down the now empty container on the desk and pointed to the second set of notes, 'one could say that in their sacrifice they are indeed honoring Cerridwen by sending someone to the underworld.'

'Back to the locations,' Jack prompted, shifting restlessly. 'Why these three?'

'Well, an obvious location would be Caer Arianhrhod, which is rumoured to be off the southern coast,' Ianto replied. 'But it is also thought to be another name for the aurora borealis, so that would be a bit harder to have as a base.'

'Yeah, I'd say,' Jack said. 'So why these three?'

'Well,' Ianto responded, finally giving in to Jack's urging to get to the point. His mind wasn't really focusing too well after the last couple of days and only a scant bit of sleep in the process. 'Daniel apparently mentioned all three as locations that they had visited. I've been able to eliminate two.'

'How?' Jack queried.

'Because they are near cairns, ancient circles or standing stones,' Ianto said. 'Both Ystradfellte and Tinkinswood are obviously areas that they had checked out for sacrifices but weren't suitable for one reason or another.'

'How can you be sure?' Jack asked, intrigued despite his impatience.

'Because of what I know about Ysgyryd Fawr,' Ianto said. He continued before Jack could prompt him again. 'It's in the Brecon Beacons, which is close to our latter locations for sacrifices. Moreover, local legend purports the land there to be incredibly rich and fertile, and it is said that earth from there has magical properties.'

Jack nodded, beginning to understand. 'What's the drive like?'

'About an hour, though with the way you drive, it would be considerably less than that,' Ianto responded dryly. Jack grinned in response.

'Okay, let's appropriate some of UNIT's scanning technology and see what we can find from above,' Jack suggested.

'Anticipated that one,' Ianto said with a smile. 'They're in the process of collecting data now. I don't expect that we'll see anything visually, but I'm hoping to use that new one that Martha mentioned not too long ago that can see heat signatures on a subterranean level.'

'Ah yes, the one that's supposed to be used for finding dictators in their bolt holes,' Jack commented with a wry note in his voice. 'Well this is a far better cause. Petty dictators can wait. Should the Adoliat actually succeed in their attempt to raise these goddesses, those men will look like children playing in a sandbox in comparison to the havoc those two could stir up.'

'Exactly,' Ianto confirmed. 'Either way, it's going to take some time to get into position and do the scan I programmed into it. So I would say that we get some sleep because nothing is going to happen for a few hours yet. And you might be able to go for weeks on end with no rest, but I cannot.'

'No, you can't,' Jack agreed. 'Go, stay here and bunk downstairs. I'm going to work on some other stuff while we wait for the bird to get into position. Get some rest, Ianto.' He gently pushed at Ianto and it was a sign of the other man's profound weariness that he just went in that general direction without a protest. Jack stared after him to make sure he made it down to the bunker and the bed that waited for him there. Once Ianto was out of sight Jack rolled over to Gwen's computer station and started tapping on the keyboard.


	17. Chapter 17

By the time Gwen arrived back at the Hub late the next afternoon, Jack and Ianto were ready with their information. They also had a tentative plan as well. She was relieved to see that both look rather rested and most of a day's rest had helped them as much as it had her.

'What's occurring?' She asked as she came through the doorway, ignoring the alarms and flashing lights. After all this time she never even noticed them anymore. It was a far cry from her first trip down to this underground lair, she mused. She came with a box of treats from the local bakery and Jack grinned wolfishly at her.

'Have I told you how beautiful you are, Gwen?' He asked. She laughed at him and held the box behind her where he couldn't get at it.

'Who said this was for you, Jack?' She teased. 'I bought these for Ianto. He needs some sustenance after the way you've been abusing him.'

'Me?' Jack feigned a hurt tone to his voice as Ianto smoothly walked past him and handed Gwen a cup of coffee. He craned his neck over Ianto's shoulder as she handed him the box in exchange for the steaming mug.

'I'll just bring these down to the board room,' he said, not breaking stride but heading down the steps and through one of the archways which led to the floor below. 'More coffee is waiting there if you would like to follow.' He didn't miss Jack's nose twitching at the enticing smell that emanated from the box as he walked along. If he were inclined to admit it, he would have said that the smell was enough to make him salivate as well. He heard Gwen laugh as she fell into line behind Jack and they marched down the stairs to the room below.

It had been a long time since the three of them had had the luxury to just sit and plan the way they used to when they had Tosh and Owen with them, Gwen mused a bit nostalgically. Usually they were running to put out one fire after another with barely time to catch their breath before something else spat out of the rift and they were off again. She inhaled deeply as she entered the room, the familiar smells of the inlaid polished wood feeling like home to her.

'There's no place like home,' she murmured as she sat down in one of the chairs at the table. Ianto had already laid out some information at the seat she normally sat at to Jack's right at the end of the table. His own materials were laid neatly across from her own.

'Click your heels three times, Dorothy,' Jack said to her as he passed her and took his seat. She smiled at him. 'I'll make sure the witch doesn't get you.'

'It's not the witches we need to watch out for,' Ianto said from the sideboard where he was arranging Gwen's bakery gift on a plate before bringing it over with a large carafe. 'It's goddesses. And I don't think we have to worry about a house falling on one of us.'

'Hmmm, you never know,' Jack said as he tilted his head to look at Ianto. 'If their house is a rather large standing stone we might want to be mindful of them flinging one of those around.'

'Ah, point taken,' Ianto agreed amiably. Gwen rested her chin on her hand with her elbow propped on the table and watched them as they spoke. These two men were as close to her as her husband was. Closer in some ways by shared experiences over the years. She trusted them with her life as they did her with theirs. Together they had done amazing and incredible things. They had also had shared heartache and pain. They were her brothers and protectors and more than that as well. As mad as her life was at times due to her association with them and Torchwood, she would never trade it for all the tea in China, she thought. It was too precious. And she knew that working here was as much of a calling as was if to a church. They did so much good, despite the heartache. She sighed softly and smiled.

Jack glanced at her sidelong, knowing her well enough to be able to guess what was going through her mind from the expression on her face. He made a show of sniffing loudly as Ianto rested the plate on the table in front of them.

'Oh my Gwen, what delight did you bring us?' Jack asked with a grin as he made puppy dog eyes at Ianto, begging for a piece. Gwen laughed, shaking off her pensive mood as Ianto rolled his eyes and cut them each a slice, giving Jack his last as a sort of teasing punishment. He sat down and winked at Gwen.

'Jack, it's like you've never eaten before or something,' he chided their boss. 'And don't wolf that down. Learn to savor the experience.'

'Are you saying I don't know how to enjoy a good thing?' Jack asked and Gwen stifled a giggle. It shouldn't surprise her by now how he could take one innocent sentence and turn it into something pornographic. But still he managed to make it dirty, even to sticking the fork in his mouth. She turned her head and drank from her cup, trying not to laugh at his antics.

'No sex at the dinner table,' she told him and before he could do more than open his mouth to answer, she focused on Ianto. 'So, what's the plan? I do hope there is one, because we need to get a move on as it were.'

'Yes,' Ianto nodded. 'We have a plan. Well, the skeleton of one, that is. And it will involve our good friends at the South Wales Police, if they're willing.'

Gwen was intrigued. 'Go on, don't keep me waiting. What do you have?'

'The key is in the old Welsh calendar,' Ianto went on. He opened the folder in front of him and she followed suit. Neither of them commented as Jack pulled the plate closer and cut himself another slice of dessert. To acknowledge it would only encourage him. 'The sacrifices so far have actually been following a pattern.' Ianto pointed to a document in front of him and looking down she was able to scan it for herself. It was a listing of ancient Welsh holidays. 'If you look at the document underneath, you'll see a list of best guesses as to when the sacrifices happened, since we can only go by the coroner's reports and the retardation of deterioration by the spell would skew that timing somewhat. But we do have an exact date on the museum, and from speaking with the Metropolitan Police we can narrow down the timeframe for when the sacrifice happened at Carn Goch Cairn as they do regular patrols there.'

He went on to describe each of the sites and how they related to the calendar dates that he had plotted out in the paper in front of her. The drawing underneath showed some artist depictions of the two goddesses as well as a listing to significant aspects of each goddess and how they related to one another.

Jack sat back in his chair and let Ianto fill Gwen in. He smiled as she intuitively leapt past his explanation to the answer they were leading her to with the information in front of them.

'So Alban Eilir is the projected time for the rising because of the significance of it being the butterfly festival?' She asked Ianto.

'It is the time of life after a long winter's sleep. It's been unseasonably warm this winter, so the transition to spring hasn't been as dramatic this year. But traditionally it is known as a time of reincarnation, of rebirth and renewal,' he responded with a nod. He went on to talk about his and Jack's idea about luring the Adoliat into showing their hand. Gwen nodded, intrigued about the idea but concerned about the well being of the team. What they were going to attempt could backfire on them, and she had no desire to hand this cult someone for them to mutilate and torture.

'Of course someone will have to be willing,' Jack broke in once she was up to date. 'We would tell them everything, of course. I wouldn't want anyone walking into that without foreknowledge, but they'd also have to be able to hide that knowledge and not tip our hands. Is there anyone on the force that you think can do that?'

Gwen nodded. 'Someone immediately comes to mind,' she replied. 'And it's someone who knows us pretty well so we don't have to explain too much of the spooky do stuff.'

'Andy Davidson,' Jack said. Gwen nodded again. Jack glanced speculatively towards Ianto before looking back. 'He'd certainly fit the profile.'

'I wish I could do it myself,' Ianto said. 'But they know me. They'd certainly know my psychic signature after breaking their workings. We can't risk that. Andy is an unknown, and physically, he fits the profile of the other sacrifices. Do you think he will be willing to do it?'

'Yeah, I think he would be,' Gwen said with a nod. 'He doesn't want this to happen to anyone else, and he will know we'll be there as backup. I presume we'll need to go through CID for this, right?'

'Probably,' Jack said. 'I don't think we can do it on our own and we'll need back up. And I trust DCI James and his staff far better than I do Harburson. This isn't a military matter, it's civil. It's also not extraterrestrial, so there's no reason to have UNIT involved in this. We'll tell them after the fact that it has been resolved,' Jack said with a firm nod.

'All right,' Gwen said. 'Let me talk to Aeron and put the idea forth to him. We'll set up a meeting at the station and in the meantime I'll speak with Andy first. I don't want to spring this on him at a meeting and make him feel obligated to do it. I want him on board before I bring CID in on this.'

'Agreed,' Jack said. 'Let's do it.' He watched as his staff went to do his bidding. Again he was reminded that they would need to expand their ranks. The sooner, rather than later. He wondered whether PC Andy would be a good candidate for joining the team. He knew that he had been keen to join up from what Gwen had told him, but that was before Gray and what he had done to the city in his quest for vengeance. Perhaps they would see how this went first before they entertained any notions of recruiting him.


	18. Chapter 18

They set the meeting for the next day, Jack wanting to give Gwen time to get the pieces in place. By the time the next morning rolled around, the sight of the Torchwood SUV arriving at the station felt normal to the local constables heading out for their shifts. The only odd thing was that for once it pulled into a visitor's parking spot and parked legitimately as opposed to scattering uniformed constables off the sidewalk.

DI Sorles stood on the steps waiting for them. The answer to their rather unusual sedate arrival could be found by who got out of the driver's seat. The suited man known as Jones had driven, leaving Jack to the passenger seat for a change. Sorles grinned. If he had his way, he would have slapped so many parking violations on that Torchwood vehicle that it would have been buried from the sheer weight of the paper. He watched as Gwen got out of the back seat. Together the three made their way over to the entrance.

'Edmund,' Gwen said with a nod. 'How are you this morning?'

'Blwdi brilliant, as long as we don't run into any more of your scary nutters,' he told her with a smile. He genuinely liked her and had been sorry when she left the force. She had been one of those eager young constables who had potential and he had thought that she would have grown into an incredible officer over time. When she had left he hadn't thought that she would cut it with the Torchwood team. He had only dealt with them in odd situations, but each of them had always been off to him. Gwen had been far too personable and he couldn't see how she would mesh with that crowd. Mesh she had, and thrived as well. And while sometimes there was that same oddness about her, he could still see that flash of the old Gwen, though not so naive as she once might have been.

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the two men behind her. Special ops indeed, Edmund Sorles mused. He ran his hand through his curly dark hair as he observed the two men. Jack Harkness was of course larger than life. The other man, Jones was rather unassuming. Edmund had known men like him and knew they bore careful scrutiny. Just by the actions that he had personally witnessed over the last week or so, this man had far more to him than could be seen from just a casual glance.

'Harkness, Jones,' DI Sorles said with a nod. 'Nice to see you didn't hit anyone on the way in.' Jack grinned from behind his dark aviator sunglasses. 'This way,' the DI said and turned to head inside the door.

The three said nothing as they followed the detective into the station and up to the room where they had met before. In the room were DCI Aeron James and DI Tom Drake. The two men nodded at the new arrivals as they came in and sat down.

'I hear you have a solution to our problem,' James started as they took their seats. He was eager for some action on this case. It felt to him that it had been festering too long and every delay at this point meant that the trail might grow cold, leaving them without a resolution. And he really didn't want any more bodies showing up on his watch like that again.

'We do,' Gwen said. She handed out several packets similar to the one that Ianto had shared the day before. In it were the documents that supported their theory as well as what they were going to attempt to do. She had already spoken with Aeron about the full idea, but it was the first time the other two detectives had heard the idea of bringing one of their constables in as bait. They reacted predictably, raising objections that a lower level staff person would have to put their neck on the line in a very potentially dangerous situation. Ianto and Gwen went through the details of the plan and the fact that their boss had no objections helped to calm the concerns of the two detectives.

'Davidson is willing to do this,' James said, informing the two men who sat at the table. 'He fits the profile and moreover has worked with Torchwood before. And we'll have back up watching every move.' Edmund Sorles flipped through the documents again, rereading the notes and frowning, but he couldn't fault their logic.

'How can we if they're up in the mountains?' Tom Drake asked with a frown. 'I've gone camping up there in the past. Lousy mobile coverage at best. How are we going to track him enough to keep him safe before they do something to him?'

'We'll handle that,' Jack responded with a confident smile. 'We have all sorts of ways of monitoring, detective.' He leaned forward and rested his arms on the table. 'Let's bring him in and get this started.' James nodded and Gwen got up and left the room. A few minutes later she returned with a rather nervous looking Andy Davidson. He had never been in the detective's squad room before and was a bit wide-eyed at being there now. 'Okay, let's get started,' Jack began as soon as Andy had arrived.

They spent the rest of the morning hashing out the details, DCI James determined not to move forward until everyone knew the plan and was comfortable with it. Once they were done, Andy headed off with the Torchwood team to begin preparations to get him into place with the Adoliat yr Arglwydes. They had to do it in such a way as to make it work but without causing suspicion. When they were ready, Andy left them to head north towards Ysgyryd Fawr. He folded himself into a battered Vauxhall Astra that Ianto had purchased for him up in Caerphilly. He was nervous, but determined to help them all out. He just hoped he wouldn't end up over a stone somewhere bleeding out in the process. Gwen had assured him that they'd be watching his every move, but he also knew how even the best plans could go awry. He hoped that this wouldn't be one of those times.

The team set up in a rental cottage that Gwen and Ianto had acquired for them by posing as a married couple on their honeymoon. The proprietor, a congenial old man with a twinkle in his eye had rented them one of his more remote cottages with the intention of giving them some privacy together. It was the closest that they could get to where they thought the Adoliat were holed up and once the man had given them directions they had gone off to explore the area before signaling for the team to come in.

'Some holiday this turned out to be,' Gwen said with a grin as she watched several burly police constables carry in their monitoring equipment. Ianto winked at her. 'A cottage meant for two but actually housing a dozen isn't what Mr. Crowther had in mind, I'm sure.'

'It will do,' he told her as he undid the fastenings to the road case and opened it. They had brought their own generator, though the Torchwood made model had a few embellishments to it than one that they'd find in their local hardware store. Ianto and Jack laid out the cabling that they would need for it before they continued to set everything up. DCI James sat and watched impassively, noting the smooth motions of the Torchwood team that suggested long familiarity with one another. While Harkness could be cheeky at times, James had grown to understand that it was kind of a defense mechanism. Something to shore up the morale in impossible situations. When there was work to do he was all business. James had seen it out in the field both at the museum and in Llwynywermod as well.

'Looks a bit impossible, doesn't it?' Gwen asked and Aeron James moved with a start. He hadn't noticed her coming up beside him. 'It will work though. Trust us on this one.'

'Andy Davidson is trusting his life with your ability to make this work,' he commented. She nodded, fully aware of what that involved. They watched silently as Ianto powered up each of the racks. Turning another road case on its side, he sat down on it and pulled a keyboard out of the top part of one of the racks, resting that on his lap. As he typed, various monitors began to light up and show images.

Aeron James said nothing but he felt a pang of envy at the level of technology that Torchwood had at their fingertips. Reconnaissance satellite surveillance, the ability to tap into CCTV at a whim and stuff that his own department would have to traverse miles of red tape in order to access on their own. He could see how being outside the government could be advantageous to getting the job done. He stifled a sigh. The best he could hope for was their assistance from time to time and he knew that by doing them this favor that they would owe him and his team. He intended to remember that and to use it to his advantage.

Jack came in and nodded as he saw the images on the displays. 'We all set?'

'Just about,' Ianto told him. He put on a headset and tapped rapidly at the keyboard. James could see that he had just entered some encrypted pass code for a Torchwood logo glared briefly before granting access. What he saw made him drop his jaw in shock.

'How?' He asked in a low voice, not wanting to speak too loudly in case he was noticed and asked to leave. Before him were military grade images and telemetry data, along with multiple tracking devices which showed far more information than any of the residents nearby probably knew or would be comfortable with sharing. One by one Ianto weeded out the unnecessary feeds, bringing them down to a much smaller subset that was localized to the area they wanted to monitor. But Aeron James had seen enough to know that this small group of operatives had access to far more information than anyone other than the Prime Minister or Whitehall. And perhaps more than both of those two august bodies.

'Got the big boy lined up?' Jack asked. He watched as Ianto had narrowed down the parameters and shunted an image to the larger display. It was the UNIT sat-tracker that they had appropriated for their use. Ianto did something on the keyboard and the image changed to show glowing dots on the screen. Jack nodded and asked him to pinpoint it a little closer to the Skirrid, which was another name for the mountain top where they knew the Adoliat yr Arglwydes currently had their base. He peered intently at the screen. 'There,' he murmured. Ianto glanced up briefly from what he was doing and nodded. Tapping at the keys, the area changed resolution and focused on a group of heat signatures. Aeron James watched impassively, knowing that those marks represented their quarry. 'Gwen, you ready yet?' Jack asked.

'Just about,' Gwen said as she sat at a separate display and put on her own headset. She activated something and James marveled at how comfortable she seemed with all of this high level technology. She brought the microphone from the headset down from where it had been out of the way. 'Andy, its Gwen. We're set up and we're about to activate the electronic eyes. Right now we're on audio only until you're ready. Are you set then?'

'Yeah, I suppose,' Andy said, the nervousness apparent in his voice. 'In the mens, but I'm alone. And decent, I might add! Just thought it would be a good place to chat.' He was wearing a hearing aid which allowed him to hear what she was saying. The device was tiny, but didn't look any different than any other type of hearing device.

'Brilliant idea,' Gwen said. She reached out to lower the volume of the speaker so his voice wasn't booming into the room. She tapped on a key and a moment later a monitor flickered to life. Andy Davidson was looking at himself in the mirror. 'Gotcha,' she said. 'You're looking grand, Andy.'

'Say that now before they flay me with darts or whatever it is they do,' Andy said morosely. He visibly shook himself. 'All right, here's the plan. I'm in the coffee shop on the other side of the hill from them. The locals said that there's a research group up on the mountain from some uni and don't really know that much about them. But they do say that there are a group of women who come down on a regular basis for supplies and usually stop in the shop for a bite to eat before going back. They've been known to chat up some folks, so I'm hoping to look appealing to them. Hopefully I can.'

'You'll do fine Andy,' Gwen assured him, seeking to make him feel more comfortable. 'You have all the stuff that Ianto gave you, yeah?'

'Yeah,' he said with a nod. He looked around the men's room, feeling awkward. 'You're close by, right?'

'Not too far at all,' Gwen said soothingly. 'We'll be with you every minute. If for some reason anything starts to feel wrong, just say the word and we'll come in. In fact we have something that can stop them where they stand.'

'Sure, if you don't mind a tactical neutron strike bomb taking everyone out,' Jack commented wryly from behind her. She motioned him to stay quiet with a shushing sound so that Andy wouldn't hear. Aeron James shifted uncomfortably. He had a feeling that Jack's comment wasn't just a flippant remark.

Ianto glanced over his shoulder and winked at the DCI. Strangely enough, that moment helped reassure him as he realized whose fingers were on the controls. It wasn't Captain Jack Harkness, which was a relief. Aeron James continued to listen to the conversation that Gwen was having with Andy as he left the men's room and sat down at a sofa near the window. There was a moment of blurriness to the image as he put glasses on and the camera in the contacts adjusted to the change in perception. James marveled at the technology again. Just how were they able to create a camera like that? He shook his head. It wasn't the first time that their technology had wowed him, but this time he was seeing it all at once, rather than some isolated gadget that they pulled out on a case. He felt slightly intimidated until he reminded himself that they needed his help. They couldn't do this alone, and he felt better about the situation.

In the cafe on the other side of the mountain PC Andy Davidson sat down and ordered a cup of cappuccino. The coffee shop was quiet, so he pulled out a book and started reading. Time moved slowly, but it was obvious that the proprietor, an older woman who looked as old at the hills, wasn't bothered by the lack of business. She just sat behind the counter, knitting.

'We have movement,' Ianto said in a low voice and Gwen glanced over at the satellite display. James leaned forward, his hands on his knees as he tried to discern what was going on. Two blue dots separated from the clump that they had been watching and headed west, towards the town. 'They're doing their weekly supply run,' he informed everyone. On another monitor he pulled up a high resolution satellite image and tapped in some coordinates. The focal length changed until it zoomed in on the top of the mountain. An old battered transit van emerged from under some trees and Ianto set the camera to track it. In another monitor other information was compiling a list. Ianto glanced up at it. 'The van is registered to a Deryn Hussey.'

'That seems appropriate,' Jack quipped. Gwen just sighed and shook her head at him. 'What can you tell me about her?' Ianto was already delving into the woman's history. Aeron James held his tongue as images popped up, clearly showing a young woman's educational background.

'She holds a MA in Welsh history from Aberystwyth University,' Ianto told Jack, pulling up a photograph from the time she graduated.

'She sounds like a girl who's right up our alley,' Jack responded. He leaned forward and started reading some of the text on the screens. 'Think she's the ring leader?'

'Unknown,' Ianto said. He starting pulling up other images, and Aeron James could see that he had pulled up documents about Hussey's extra-curricular activities. Ianto separated still images in which Deryn Hussey had posed with other students and James nodded. It stood to reason that people she associated with might be also involved in the cult. He stood up. No one objected to his moving around and so he came to stand behind Ianto, not too far from where Jack stood. He glanced over at the DCI.

'Good, we can use your eyes. When that van stops, let's see if we can I.D. the other person in the van. It will help us to figure out who else we need to contend with,' Jack said to Aeron James. James nodded and moved even closer to the screens.

'What about cross referencing those group photos to other history or even literature and mythology majors?' James suggested. Jack seemed surprised but Ianto was already acting on the suggestion. He took snapshots of each of the faces from the photos and sent them through a search to do exactly that. Meanwhile, they tracked the transit van down to the village. Gwen kept Andy informed of their progress. By the time the van pulled over in the single road that went through the township, Andy was immersed in writing notes, looking every bit the scholar of medieval research.

Ianto zoomed in on the road and was able to get a snapshot of the two women as they got out. Neither were Deryn Hussey. Aeron James frowned as he watched Ianto work to identify the two women. Eventually he did, connecting both women to Hussey through associative groups. Both were women; one named Caerwyn Merrill and the other Melissa Adams. By the time they came out of the local grocery store, Ianto was well on his way of compiling dossiers on both women.

The two loaded the transit van and closed the doors. They then walked over in the direction of the coffee shop.

'This is our chance,' Jack said softly. Gwen nodded, but continued to speak in a soft voice to Andy, giving him information but not distracting him in any way. She was tense, knowing that the next few moments would either be their in to the group or would in some way tip them off to their presence on the mountain. She crossed her fingers in the hopes it would help their chances for the former rather than the latter result.

In the coffee shop Andy kept his head down as the door opened and two women walked in. One of the women glanced in his direction, but seemed to dismiss him. She walked up to the counter and started speaking with the proprietor. She ordered coffee for two and the women sat down at another table by the window, not too far from where Andy sat.

The second of the women, Melissa, watched him curiously, an amused curl to her lips. The man was the only other patron. He looked the bookish sort with curly hair and a very single minded focus as he scribbled on a pad of paper. She rolled her eyes at Caerwyn who looked over curiously, her head cocked to one side.

'Hello,' Caerwyn said. She had to say it again before the man noticed that she was speaking to him. In reality, it had been Gwen who had pointed out that the woman was talking, so absorbed had Andy been in what he was doing. He looked up and blinked owlishly in the two women's direction.

'Hello,' he replied with a shy smile.

'Watcha working on?' She asked him. He blinked again. 'If you don't mind my asking, that is?'

'No, not at all,' Andy said. He angled his head a bit so the hearing aid was noticed, perhaps explaining his actions at not responding right away. He noticed that her eyes glanced to the side of his head before returning back to his face. 'I'm working on my thesis. A friend told me that this would be a good place to get away from the city so I'd be able to concentrate on it. Too many distractions back home, that sort of thing.'

'Ah, I see,' Caerwyn said. She got up and moved over to where he sat. 'Then I guess I shouldn't be bothering you if you're meant to be working.'

Andy looked down and noticed his cup was empty. 'Actually, I need a break. I swear my head is swimming in a fog. I need more caffeine if I'm going to get anything useful done.' He looked towards the counter and raised the empty cup. 'If I could bother you Mrs. Haines, for another cuppa?'

'Of course, darling,' the older woman said. Something about the young man made her want to mother him. She put down her knitting and started brewing him a cup. She also cut him a bit of some tart she had. That poor lad looked skin and bones. If he was like any of the other university boys she had known traveling through the area, he probably forgot to eat at times. No wonder why he looked so thin, she mused. She puttered in the kitchen behind the counter, making the coffee for the two women before bringing all three servings out on a single tray. She put the two women's orders down first before trundling over to where the young man sat.

'There you go, love. And I found a bit of tart for you. Just what you need to fill those hollow cheeks.'

Andy smiled winsomely up at her. 'You're too kind, Mrs. Haines. Thank you so much.'

'Oh don't worry your head over it, it was nothing.' She assured him, beaming at the man before her. She stood there for a moment with her tray against her apron before turning away to go back to the counter. She leaned in conspiratorially towards the two women. 'A fine catch that one is, I think!' Her voice wasn't that soft that Andy couldn't hear it.

Back at the base camp Gwen snickered and had to mute her mic for a moment. Jack looked over at her and grinned. Ianto just shook his head but said nothing as he continued to work up a profile. Jack began pacing. He was eager for them to take the bait but this had to be handled in such a way that it didn't look too suspicious. So far Andy was doing a marvelous job and Jack thought about whether after this was over he would make a good member of the Torchwood team. He wasn't sure if Gwen would like that idea, and he did see a certain use to having Andy where he was. It gave them an in to the police force that was helpful to have on occasion.

At the coffee shop Melissa dissolved into giggles as her friend rolled her eyes behind the back of the retreating woman. Andy actually managed a blush which wasn't at all feigned.

'Well, there goes what little concentration I had,' he declared with a rueful grin and sat back in his chair, taking the time to stretch out the kinks in his neck. 'Still, this coffee is fantastic,' he said as he picked up the mug and took a sip. The conversation encouraged the two women to move over to where he sat.

'What are you working on then?' Caerwyn asked him as she pulled the overstuffed chair from the table next to his over and sat down. Melissa dragged her own chair over and then went to retrieve their coffee mugs. 'Oh, I'm Caerwyn by the way. And this one is Missy.' She spoke slowly as if realising he had a disability. Andy relaxed a bit that it looked like they were falling for the ruse.

'Dai,' Andy said, the practiced name sliding off his lips. 'Dai Allen,' he said with a smile. 'And I'm working on something incredibly boring, to tell the truth.'

'Go on then,' Melissa urged, curious about what he was working on. She had seen some symbols she had recognized already, so knew it had something to do with the area. 'Tell us.'

'All right, if you must know,' Andy said with a sigh. 'It is a thesis about the Juxtaposition of Anglican and Christian Ideas in Regards to Celtic Mythology. In other words, a dissertation on how the Christian church has usurped pagan ideology for its own, but specific to Celtic mythology. Well, Welsh, mainly.'

'Oh?' Caerwyn asked, looking wide-eyed at what he had said. 'That's a bit of a mouthful, isn't it?'

'Told you it was potentially boring,' he confided. He lowered his voice and she leaned forward to hear him better. 'It sounded good at the time but the longer I work on it, the more boring it sounds. And yes, it is a bit of a mouthful.'

'I studied literature back at uni,' Melissa said. 'So I can understand how sometimes those things can start to get away from you once you start writing it. What kind of Celtic mythology are you using in your thesis?'

'Well, all sorts,' Andy explained. 'But my friend Bryn had suggested I up come up here so I could use the Skirrid as a bit of inspiration. And if anything could be used as an example of how Christians have tried to usurp a mythological idea, that would be a great one.'

'The mountain?' Caerwyn asked with a glance out the window. Andy followed her gaze where they could see the landslip that was its more outstanding feature. 'Because they call it the holy mountain?'

'Yes. The Christian view is with Skirrid Fawr was that the slip happened at the moment of the crucifixion. In fact, the Church of St. Michael was erected there to lay claim to the magical properties purported to be inherent in the ground there. Typical action of the church to take over land once sacred to the locals for its pagan properties,' Andy said with a disdainful sniff. His eyes widened after a moment and he pulled his pad closer and began scribbling furiously. 'Oh this is good. I really have to work that into my thesis.'

The two women exchanged glances with one another and Missy nodded at her friend. 'You know, we know someone who is doing some research up here as well.'

'Oh?' Andy asked, affecting an air of distraction as if he weren't interested in what they were saying, but was focused on what he was writing. 'I'm sure you get a lot of that sort of thing up here, between all the uni students doing work and all.'

'Yeah, a bit,' Caerwyn acknowledged. 'She's a good friend and she's also researching the mountain. Her focus is also pagan mythology.'

'Really?' Andy looked up and peered over the rim of his glasses at her. She thought him rather cute when he did that and she smiled. Then he frowned. 'Oh god, please don't tell me someone else already had my idea? No, please don't say someone else has already done my thesis! I couldn't bear the thought of having to start all over again with a different subject if they already registered it somewhere else, you know? Does she go to the University of Wales, do you know? Oh God, I hope she doesn't! Then someone might think I stole the idea from her and then I'd get chucked, you know.' He spoke fast, attempting to show some panic at the thought that someone else might have already taken his idea for their paper.

'No, she's not at uni,' Caerwyn interjected, wanting to reassure him. 'Hasn't been for years, really. She's more of a...' she trailed off and looked at her friend as she tried to come up with a way to describe this friend of hers. Andy peered owlishly at her, his face still anxious.

'She's sort of a professor type, I think,' Missy filled in and the young man looked rather relieved that he wasn't competing with another graduate student. 'Maybe she would be able to give you some information for yours, though.'

'Would she want to talk to the likes of me?' Andy asked, perplexed, as if he couldn't understand why any researcher would want to talk to a lowly student. 'Oh, I couldn't possibly. I'm sure if she's here doing research she doesn't need someone like me bothering her.'

'Oh, on the contrary,' Caerwyn stepped in smoothly and reached across his notebook to rest her hand on top of his in what seemed like a reassuring manner. 'She delights in intellectual curiousity. She thrives on it, one might say.'

'Well, why don't you ask her first?' Andy said. 'I am camping not too far from here but come in where I can sit and write. It's definitely worth it just for the coffee, you know.'

'We have a place for you to stay,' Missy said with a gleam in her eye. 'You don't need to camp and come here just to write. We have a bit of a commune, you see. We all study ancient Welsh culture.'

'Do you, now?' Andy asked. He seemed awed at the thought. 'How did that come about?'

'Well, Dr Hussey is a bit draw,' Caerwyn said with a smile. 'She knows more about the local lore and her specialty is ancient Welsh folklore. That's why we're here studying the mountain. I think she would probably believe that you are right and that underneath the Christian trappings there is a layer of good old homespun pagan rituals.'

Andy allowed himself to look intrigued and after some time where the two women took turns regaling him with tales of the incredible researcher, he finally allowed himself to acquiesce to the idea of going to see her. He told them he felt awkward just dropping in on her, but they assured him that people did it all the time.

A short time later he was in the back of the transit van sitting on a sack of grain for a seat. The women had apologised that there was no back seat, but said that the van was used for bringing in supplies when they needed it and for going on digs.

'Archeological digs, you mean?' He asked and the two women nodded. 'What sort of digs have you been on?'

'Oh, mostly around here it's checking out the local menhirs and circles that the ancients left behind,' Missy said. She had a dreamy look on her face. 'There's something so magical about them, especially at night. Like you can feel the presence of the goddess or something.'

Andy smiled. 'Is there are particular goddess associated with this area?'

'Oh, I'm not saying this right,' Missy said. 'Let's just wait until you talk to Deryn. She has a way of describing it that will make the hair on your arms stand up. We once went looking for faerie rings. There's a lot of that sort of thing around here, too. Amazing, really. There's so much of this area that is alive, Dai. It's just waiting for you to commune with it.'

Andy nodded and decided to hold off questions, since every time he did ask something they would deflect it, deferring to this Deryn person. He had a feeling that she was the leader of the Adoliat.

At the base camp the team watched silently, listening to the conversation on the speakers and looking through Andy's eyes at the scenery rolling by. They already knew where the van was headed, but didn't have much intel on the cult's base of operations. What they would get was the information that came from Andy's cameras and in sensors he was able to plant should he have the means to do so. Jack continued to pace, silent. Aeron James watched the Torchwood team closely. The joking had stopped the minute Andy had made contact with the two women. These people were all business.

He turned and walked out the door. He wanted his staff ready in case they had to move in a hurry.


	19. Chapter 19

A short time later the transit van entered a wooded area that obscured it from any prying eyes that might be watching. Of course that didn't mean Torchwood, since the surveillance satellite had multiple layers of technology that were able to eliminate barriers so that they could see. They also had Andy's view as well, but at the moment it wasn't too helpful to them. Ianto filtered out the heavy underbrush and tree cover and silently Aeron James marveled at the ability to see the van as if the trees had never been there.

They followed the path of the van along a narrow dirt track until it reached a set of buildings that at first glance looked like a farmhouse in the country. It looked normal of course, except for the rather secure looking stone wall that surrounded the grounds. The satellite actually picked up electronic surveillance gear in the compound.

'Hmmm, so much for getting back to nature,' Jack commented as he surveyed the array of hardware that was picked up by the sensors.

Gwen muted her mic so as to not disturb Andy. 'A case of do as I say and not as I do?' She mused. Jack winked at her.

'Of course. Though when you're doing something not only illegal but highly dangerous, what's breaking a few rules of natural law when it comes down to it?' He asked. He leaned on the back of Ianto's chair. 'Any chance of tapping into that without them noticing?'

'I'll see. God, this is more Tosh's bailiwick than mine,' Ianto murmured. Jack gripped his shoulder in encouragement.

'You're doing fine; you learned from the best, after all. But be careful. We don't want to clue them into that fact that this bloke they just picked up is any different from any of the others,' Jack said. He scanned the monitors before them before heading over to where Gwen sat. Andy was getting out of the van and several other individuals came out of one of the buildings that looked like it might be the main residence. 'Any matches?'

Gwen shook her head, knowing he was referring to the snapshots of people that Deryn Hussey had associated with in the past. She also kept the mic shut as Andy was introduced to the others. They were all women. In the speakers they could hear Andy being introduced to the group as a scholar who was working on a thesis. The women were very welcoming, smiling widely and invitingly.

'Step into my parlor said the spider to the fly,' Jack muttered and shuddered theatrically. Ianto chuckled softly.

'It was actually 'Will you walk into my parlor?'' Ianto corrected him. Jack only snorted in response. 'Of course now you'll tell me you actually met Mary Howitt.'

'Mmmmm,' Jack replied noncommittally. It was a sign of the tension that they were all feeling that he didn't automatically start with some outrageous story about a past association with the woman. 'I wasn't interested in poetry back then.'

'There's a relief,' Ianto replied. He leaned forward a bit, leaving Jack's hand to trail down his back. 'I think I might have an in. But I want to do this carefully. No need clueing them into the fact that big brother is watching their compound.'

'Andy,' Gwen said as she turned on her mic. She spoke in a low tone so as not to get picked up by any of the sensitive equipment the group might have. 'There's a lot of high tech equipment in the enclave that Ianto is looking to tap into. We won't do anything that might jeopardize you, but see if you can get them to brag about the place. Something that will give us some more information about what they're doing would be nice. You're doing fine, by the way. Just grand. Keep charming them.'

At the remote mountain farm on the other side of the Skirrid, Andy resisted the urge to respond to her encouragement. He tried to treat the whole thing as if he were role playing. He used to do that ages ago when he was younger. Kind of like being in a play. He was playing a part and so far it was working. So he looked around and admired the place, but none of them talked about what they had there, other than to make it seem like a rustic scholarly retreat.

'Not getting anything from them,' Gwen said. Ianto nodded to indicate he had heard her but otherwise didn't respond. Jack stood behind him, watching silently. Further back Aeron James stood quietly, watching from the edges. Infiltrating any group was difficult and it was usually left to someone with far more experience than what PC Davidson had. He was regretting agreeing to this and wished he had at least been able to insert someone of a higher rank and experience into the operation. He shook his head. Anyone with more experience would have been too old to fit the profile.

At the enclave Andy was led into one of the buildings which had a large central room. It was a wide open space with chairs around the edges but the center was clear. He wondered if this was where they practiced their rituals. Mentally shaking his head and concentrating on what Missy was telling him he took the tour through the space, noting some areas of interest that he wasn't shown - doors that were closed off and spaces where the women seemed to block the way. It could have been innocent enough, but then again, maybe not.

It was in one of the back areas where they were working on restoring some old papers that he finally met another man amongst all the women. Missy introduced him to the young man who was a bookish sort who was doing the preservation work on the ancient papers that they were trying to archive for their use. The room had a musty smell from all of the books that lined the walls. Andy glanced around in unfeigned awe. Every bookcase was chocked full of books. He walked towards one wall and started reading the titles. Many were in languages he didn't know.

At the base camp Gwen snapped her fingers to get Jack and Ianto's attention. 'Look here,' she urged them. Jack walked over and stood behind her, watching the titles blur past as Andy scanned the shelves. 'Some of that is old Welsh,' Gwen said, pointing a finger. Jack nodded.

'Ianto, let's switch places. I think we're going to need you over here,' Jack said. Ianto looked up distractedly from where he had been working. Jack walked over and Aeron watched as Ianto got out of the chair and Jack slipped into his seat in a smooth movement. He wondered how many times they had done that sort of thing before. Ianto walked over to where Gwen was seated and peered at the monitors.

'Oh my,' was all he said as he picked up a headset to talk to Andy. 'Ianto here. Keep on scanning and let me get a good look at some of those titles.' Andy had to stop himself from nodding his head. He crouched down and looked at the bottom shelf, mumbling to himself in what he thought was a realistic manner.

'I see we've lost our guest already,' a throaty voice said in a low tone. Andy resisted the urge to turn around. The voice was a low contralto, rich and sultry. He pretended to be caught up in his fascination as he heard one of the two girls - Missy, he thought it was - explaining his presence to the other woman.

'It's always a pleasure to have another scholar about,' the woman said. 'Dai?' She called his name out and Andy didn't respond, having totally forgotten that it was his cover name.

'I think he's a bit hard of hearing,' the other voice he recognised said. Caerwyn, he remembered belatedly. A moment later he felt a touch on his shoulder and started. He looked up at her.

'Oh, I apologise!' He exclaimed. 'Sorry. I see a book and I'm lost!' He stood up, absently brushing his knees as if he had done this sort of thing before. 'You must think it terribly rude of me!'

Caerwyn smiled at him. 'Not at all, we are all susceptible to the allure of history here.' She entwined her fingers with his and tugged him away from the bookcase. 'I want you to meet our mentor. Dai, this is Professor Hussey.'

Andy gave the older woman a bemused smile and blinked a couple of times as if trying to focus. 'Dr. Hussey!' He finally exclaimed, lurching forward awkwardly. He wanted to appear to be uncoordinated. Perhaps if he were, they would underestimate him. 'I do apologise again!'

The woman before him was short and petite with rich auburn hair that was held back from her face with a barrette. The temples showed some grey and there were lines around her eyes as if she were outside often in the elements. She smiled at him, her green eyes twinkling in amusement.

'Never apologise for having an interest in history or a good book, Dai.' She told him, extending her hand. He took it and hesitated, unsure whether to kiss it or shake it. She solved that conundrum by squeezing his hand tightly. He had to struggle not to wince at the strength of her grip. 'I understand you are working on your thesis.'

'Yes, ma'am,' he replied, ducking his head down in embarrassment. 'Missy and Caerwyn thought you might spare some time to speak with me. That is, if you're not too busy.'

'No, I'm always intrigued by what someone is working on,' she said. He resisted the urge to shiver at the tone of her voice. It sounded predatory. 'Tell me first though about your training.' Andy rattled off the CV that Ianto had prepared for him. Deryn Hussey nodded and while he was talking he noticed several more women come into the room. He tried not to show his nervousness that he and the silent man who continued to work on restoring the old documents were the only men around.

'Impressive,' the professor said with a nod. 'I would love to speak more about this, Dai. But first, I'm curious about something. I have to admit that my lexicon is not as well filled out as your own sounds. I was wondering if you would indulge me for a moment on a whim of mine.'

'Certainly,' Andy said. She gestured for him to come over to the table where the other man was working. Andy looked down at what looked like photography developing trays filled with liquid.

'This is Geraint,' Deryn continued. 'He is currently restoring a lost manuscript we discovered recently.' Inside were pieces of parchment. Andy found himself looking down at something which felt unbelievably old. He felt all the women staring at him. 'Take a closer look.'

Andy struggled hard to stay in his role. He was extremely nervous that this was a test of some kind. He waited for a moment.

At the base camp Gwen swore softly. 'It's a test. They want to see if he can read it.' Ianto nodded.

'Move around the table. The document is upside down,' he told Andy in a quiet and calm voice. 'Let me take a look at it. I can help you with this, so when you move over, take a long look at it for me.' Ianto's fingers flew over the keys as Andy moved into position. As he looked into the first tray, he focused on the text. It meant nothing to him, but Ianto was able to snap a screen capture and routed that to an adjacent monitor. He leaned closer to the screen and began to scan it.

'Okay,' he instructed Andy. 'How the hell did they find a document that doesn't exist? What you're looking at is an original written document by the poet Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch. I only took a quick scan, but the story on the first page is new. It's never been published, at least not in the modern age.'

Andy absorbed what Ianto said and looked up at the woman who was standing on the other side of the table watching him closely. 'Where did you find this?' He asked in a hoarse voice, trying to imitate the excitement he had heard in Ianto's voice. He ignored all the questions bubbling up about how Ianto even knew how to read it, never mind that he knew it was an original unpublished work.

Deryn Hussey smiled smugly. 'I found it in an old abbey not too far from here,' she told him. 'Tell me what you see.'

'If I'm reading this correctly,' Andy said, nervously pushing the glasses up the bridge of his nose. 'This is a missing chapter of the White Book of Rhydderch. I've read what is at university from cover to cover and this story isn't in there. But the style is the same,' he said, repeating Ianto's words verbatim as they were spoken through his earpiece. 'Dr Hussey, this is amazing! The significance of such a find and what it may mean to scholars is incredible!'

'Yes, it is amazing.' Deryn Hussey replied with a smug smile. She believed him to be what he claimed to be, just by his recognition of the Middle Welsh text. 'Come over to this tray. If you found that amazing, this one will really knock you for six.' Andy obediently moved away from the table over to the other end where the other man was working. The man stepped back to give him room. Andy looked down again and stared at the faded squiggles of text. It meant absolutely nothing to him, but he hoped it would to Ianto.

Ianto stared at another screen capture. He electronically increased the contrast of the document so that it would be easier to read. 'That's impossible,' he muttered.

Andy repeated what he said without thinking. He heard his voice echo in the room and it startled him enough to look up at the women standing on the other side of the work table. Dr. Hussey was smiling at him.

'Andy, go back to the other tray for a moment as if you need to do a comparison,' Ianto told him. Andy obeyed and then moved back to the second tray. Meanwhile Ianto compared the two documents side by side. 'The writing is different, but definitely the same style. There were five known writers of the stories of Rhydderch. This handwriting does not match any of them, including the one in the tray to the left.'

Andy again repeated Ianto's words and Deryn broke out into a big smile.

'Exactly,' she said with satisfaction. 'We believe that this missing story was written at the time of the rest of the text but believe that this may have been written by Tangwystyl Rhydderch.' Andy stared at her as if in shock as he responded to Ianto's sharp inhalation in response to what she had said.

'Why do you think that?' He asked unprompted. Deryn Hussey relaxed further. The man's shock was real and indicative of a scholar who was used to a male dominated societal view.

'Because of other research I've done,' she said simply. 'I can show you later, but suffice to say we have a diary of Tangwystyl's which fits both the writing style and penmanship.' She gestured towards the doorway. 'Please, we're keeping Geraint from his duties. Come with me and sit for a while. I am curious as to your thoughts on the idea of a woman from ancient Wales who could write.'

'That is an oddity,' Andy said, not waiting for anything from Ianto. Even he could recognise that would be known as unheard of in olden times. While he wasn't the brightest one when it came to studying, he knew enough of medieval times to know that a woman who could read and write was pretty unusual. 'Though when you do finally get that preserved I would love to study it. If I may, that is,' he said diffidently, knowing that it was a significant find and that they might want to withhold access until one of them had published first.

'Of course,' Deryn smiled widely. 'I'd be happy to share what I've found so far. I believe that as your thesis is on the subject of Christian theft of Celtic mythology, you might find it rather interesting.' She led the way down the hallway and out into the larger room that they had first passed through. 'Come, sit.'

Several of the other women whose names he had already forgotten sat with them and they began a lively debate about the documents that they had found and the effect that it would have once it was published. They talked well into the night, food and drink being brought in to where they sat rather than having the group get up to go sit at a table somewhere. Andy wondered whether some areas were just deliberately closed off to him. It stood to reason that they would be. Even though it seemed he had passed their test with reading that ancient literature text, he still felt a bit jittery. As it grew dark they lit lamps, but he knew that they had access to electricity. He had felt the hum of a generator under his feet in the back room, but he went along with them, not really having any reason to act otherwise. It did show they had stuff to hide, though.

'So I have to ask you, Dr. Hussey…' he said as he sipped his tea, then belatedly remembered that she had asked him to refer to her by her first name. 'Deryn,' He had taken some pills that Gwen had given him that would prevent him from getting drugged and he hoped that if the food was indeed doctored that it would prevent him from getting sick. He didn't feel like he was being watched closely so he hoped that they hadn't done anything. If they had and he didn't react, it might make them suspicious. 'What is it that keeps you up here on the Skirrid rather than down in the city?'

'It's where the work is,' she told him and gestured a hand around them. 'And I always did better in the field than in the classroom.' She waved aside the comments from the other women who protested her self-assessment. 'Besides, what I tend to work on isn't too popular in some circles.'

'Oh?' Andy asked, but Deryn didn't go into too much detail. They continued to talk about research and the like. One by one the others drifted off, leaving just Andy and Deryn alone together. She shifted over to where he was seated and he suppressed a shiver. There was something about her that put him on edge. He tried not to show it, though.

'Dai,' she finally said. 'What is your opinion about the ancient goddesses of Wales?' At the base camp Ianto sat up straighter and nodded as Gwen handed him a cup of coffee from a thermos. This could be a loaded question and he wanted to be prepared. He had given Andy some background on this just in case the question came up, but he wanted to be ready in case he had to give him something to say on the fly.

Andy responded with the answer they had come up with earlier. 'Those in the Pedair Cainc y Mabinogi? Arianrhod and _Blodeuwedd are essential to those tales. Whether one considers Cerridwen part of the Mabinogi is questionable,' Andy continued, 'her tale coming from the bard Taliesin as it were. But there are those that believe that the triad makes up one of the major cornerstones of ancient Celtic belief.'_

 _'Indeed,' Deryn said with a smile. She nodded as one of the younger women came back in with a decanter and two glasses. 'I'm fond of mead in the evening. Would you share a glass with me so that I don't feel all alone drinking by myself?'_

 _Andy smiled and nodded. If anything was going to be drugged it would be this, he thought to himself. He fumbled with the glass and spilled some on his shirt. Exclaiming, he patted himself dry, making sure that the ring on his hand came in contact with the liquid._

 _'I'm sorry that I'm so clumsy,' he apologised. 'I have to confess that I haven't slept very well while camping. Thoughts of this paper have pretty much consumed both my waking and sleeping moments until I feel like I haven't been able to get any rest.' Deryn laughed at his comment._

 _'Oh, I remember those days! All that work and angst for a paper that you feel like no one will ever read!' She exclaimed. 'Sometimes scholarly work feels that way, but when one hungers for knowledge the doors such research unlocks!' She had a gleam in her eye and he knew she was talking more of her own work now than from when she was a student._

 _At the base camp Ianto murmured, 'Good man.' He brought up a secondary window up on his screen and Aeron James moved closer to see what he was looking at. Ianto glanced briefly over his shoulder and nodded. The ring was fixed with a transmitter which had actually sampled the liquid for them. Aeron marveled at the idea of a computer that tiny that could absorb something like that and transmit the composition back to them for analysis. He shook his head silently. If he had access to a tenth of this type of technology his life would be a lot easier, he thought. Ianto watched as the program processed the information and came up with a report. He continued in a low voice, knowing that Deryn Hussey was sitting close to Andy, ostensively to help him with his hearing problem, but Ianto wanted to be cautious._

 _'Andy, there's trace amounts of hallucinogens, but nothing that will knock you out,' he told him in a low voice. 'It could be a test to see how you react. Or it could be their way of slowly taking control. Drink so you don't look suspicious, but not a lot, just to be safe. After a while, yawn. It should be making you tired.'_

 _Andy was holding the glass up to the lamplight. 'I used to make my own mead back at uni. Was rubbish at it, to be honest.' He grinned and cautiously took a sip. 'Oh, this is definitely much better than what I used to make.'_

 _'We make our own here,' she said with a laugh. 'I'm a bit of a traditionalist, you see.' She continued to chat and he sipped again. His tongue felt a bit numb after a while, even with the little he had imbibed. He yawned after a bit. He was feeling rather muzzy actually, despite not having drunk a lot. Spilling some had helped it make it look like he had had more than he really did. 'Oh dear, I think I've worn you out.'_

 _'I think I've worn myself out,' he said, stifling another yawn. 'And please, it's not the company. This has been downright fascinating,' he told her. 'But it has been a bit of a long day.'_

 _'Let's get you sorted then,' she told him. She took the glass out of his hand and set it down on a nearby table. 'I believe Melissa set up a room for you.' She took his hand and he got to his feet, weaving a bit unsteadily. 'Let me show you where.'_

 _'Oh, you shouldn't have to do that,' he protested. It seemed an odd thing for the leader of a research group to do something so trivial. But she waved away his comment and led him down the hallway. The lights were dimmer back here. He got a bit confused with the turnings, the wine making him feel muddled. Eventually they reached a doorway and she opened the door. His carry sack sat on the bed. He knew they had probably gone through it, but that was the plan, anyhow. To make them believe he was who he said he was so that they would trust him. He stopped short in the doorway. 'Oh my god,' he said softly. 'Is that a bed? A real honest bed?'_

 _'Around here we would say oh my goddess!' Deryn said with a laugh. 'But yes, I would assume after camping for a while that a bed would seem like heaven. This is your room, Dai. Feel free to have a lie in and we'll see you in the morning when you've rested.'_

 _'Thank you, Deryn,' he said, clasping her hand in gratitude. 'You've done so much for me already. I've never felt so welcomed before.'_

 _'Thank you for coming here,' she told him. 'I hope that you will find your time here very enlightening.' He smiled tentatively at the odd choice of words, but otherwise said nothing. Once the door was closed he sighed tiredly. He had no idea whether the room was bugged. He sat down on the bed and flopped onto his back._

 _'God, I'm tired,' he muttered to himself. He scanned the room, allowing Ianto to use the technology in the contacts to check the room out. At Ianto's urging he opened his bag and pulled his meager clothes out, putting them in the small shelving unit that was there for his use. The Torchwood team didn't find anything electronically that they could see, but they agreed that it was best to assume he was being watched. He was so tired at this point that all he wanted to do was sleep, anyhow. He used the drops that would keep the contacts lubricated and went to bed._

 _When they lost the signal at the camp, Ianto sat back with a sigh. Gwen came over and put her arms around him, giving him a hug. He leaned into her embrace for a moment before moving away without another word. Aeron James had moved back to his seat, knowing that they would need to take time to rest when they could. This was still a delicate situation and it wasn't over yet._

 _'I'll be back, want to ring Rhys,' Gwen said as she picked up her mobile and headed out the door. At this point none of the Cardiff police questioned Torchwood's ability to get a signal, even in such a remote area. Jack leaned back in his chair and put his feel up on one of the crates._

 _'You kids go get some sleep. I'll man the fort here for now,' he said, not looking behind him. Ianto leaned forward and rotated his head on his neck, trying to ease the kinks from having sat at the screens so long. 'We've got beds sorted, so go rest.'_

 _'Not arguing,' Ianto said as he pushed himself out of the chair. 'Call me if you need me,' he said. He headed through the door to the side parlor and a moment later they heard footsteps on the stairs._

 _'If you need me to switch off,' Aeron finally spoke. 'Let me know. I know I can't run this, but I can give you an alert if I need to.' Jack turned his head to look at the DCI. 'I'm here to help.'_

 _'Thanks,' Jack said with a smile. 'But I'll be fine. I don't sleep much.'_

 _'Still,' Aeron said. Jack nodded and waved him off._

 _'We'll need you when they move. If Ianto has this figured rightly, they're going to need to do their next sacrifice in the next three days in order to keep on their schedule. That means that we'll be here for it. It may not happen tomorrow, but the more time we have, the more we can figure out where they're going to be. Go to bed, Aeron. We left the rooms on the left open for your team,' Jack told the other man._

 _'My boys are bunking outside tonight,' Aeron told him. 'But thanks, anyhow. I will however, take you up on the offer for myself.' With a tired grin he headed up the stairs, taking his overnight bag with him._

 _Jack stared after him for a long moment before turning back toward the screens. Aeron James was a good man. Jack felt comfortable having him involved, which was the first time in a long time he had felt that about an outsider. Gwen had vouched for the man, but still, he had lived up to that on his own merits._

 _Gwen walked through the door and smiled tiredly at Jack. 'Everyone off to bed?' He nodded. 'I'm off too, then. Unless you need some company.' She hesitated for a moment._

 _'No. Thanks, though.' Jack told her. 'It's going to be busy the next few days. How's Rhys holding up without you?'_

 _'Oh, he was off with his friend Banana Boat,' she said with a laugh. 'Having a boys' night out as it were. Not missing me at all, to be honest.' Jack grinned. She didn't sound too put out about it. 'Well, I'm off to my dreams, then. Goodnight, Jack. Call me if you need me.'_

 _Jack nodded. They both knew he wouldn't._


	20. Chapter 20

The next day followed the pattern of the first, with the group at the enclave showing Andy around. To his questions about the imbalance between the sexes they explained that they were largely a group of feminists, but that they found some men to be not so pigheaded that they could actually work with them in a civil manner. Andy found that to be a bit disingenuous but acted as if he were flattered that they found him worth having in their midst.

He took some time to go to his room and 'work' on his thesis. In reality he was working with Ianto on a floor plan, outlining the rooms he knew and the spaces he didn't based on not being able to get into some areas. He did spend a lot of time with Deryn and a few select women whom he had met the day before. He knew he was being drugged at the meals. He saw that one of the women had shifted something into his plate as well as that of Geraint, their preservationist. It was subtle and not something that he would have recognized if he hadn't been on guard for it. He thought they were doing it to keep them docile, and he played along with it. He knew that the preventative measures Torchwood had taken would wear off eventually, but he hoped whatever impairment he would have wouldn't be too bad. He tried not to worry about it, since he really couldn't do much about it now that he was there.

In the evening again they sat around the central room and talked. This time the talk centered around the research they were doing on the goddesses. At the base camp Gwen was manning the systems and listening to what was going on, a bit bored with the topic of the conversation. She was never one for history and the passion of these people to talk about it all the time was making her eyes glaze over. Ianto continued to monitor the conversation, feeding information to Andy so that he could take part. The CID staff was outside playing football in the early evening. Aeron James walked in and surveyed the scene. Jack was nowhere to be found. He felt an itch between his shoulders. People were bored. This was the time when something would happen. It always did when their guard was down for a long stakeout. He turned to the kitchen and went to make some coffee. They needed their wits around them.

By the time he came back with a carafe of coffee and a thermos for his men, Gwen was sitting up straight and listening intently. He walked over to where she was seated and poured her a cup. 'What's going on?'

'Something's different,' she murmured. She had her mic off but her head was cocked to one side as she were listened intently. 'Call it a hunch, but something just changed.' Aeron glanced over at Ianto. He was leaning forward and following the images that the contacts were showing them. Andy's gaze seemed to be wandering a lot, as if he were dazed.

'How much of that is acting and how much has he ingested that might be affecting him?' Aeron asked. Gwen shook her head.

'Unknown. We did get a sample of some of the other food he had earlier. It didn't have any more than what he had had before, but maybe there's a cumulative effect. Still, he's safe for the moment. We're watching him everywhere, so should something happen, we'll be able to respond.'

'I'll go warn the men,' Aeron James said. Gwen nodded and he headed out the door. As he went out into the clearing something made him look up the hill. A shadow separated from a rock and he started before he recognized the figure of Jack making his way down to the clearing. By the time he had spoken to the men Jack was inside. Aeron handed over the thermos and told the team to be ready. Something was obviously up.

Back inside Ianto was still listening intently. 'They're talking about the rituals that they have supposedly uncovered from some sort of ancient text that Hussey had found,' he was telling Jack. 'Andy is asking all the right questions. He's encouraging them, telling them he once thought about studying Celtic religious ceremonies but found the program at university to be too constrained towards one point of view, so he dropped it. That fed right into Deryn Hussey giving a dissertation about how the male dominated studies program at most universities have it all wrong. She's on a roll at the moment.' He listened again. 'This has to be a hot button for her.' He tapped on his keyboard, doing some research. 'Ah.'

'Yes?' Jack asked. He peered at the screen in front of Ianto.

'Apparently she was denied a post at Aberystwyth,' Ianto said as he read the file. 'Her views were seen as too extreme for the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies. Judging by her views here, she thinks it was because the department was sexist.'

'Of course it was,' Jack replied. 'It was undoubtedly male dominated. I think we're finally getting a profile here and some motivation.'

'The motivation being that should she create a group that can raise a pair of goddesses she can not only prove them wrong, but able to smite them where they stand in their tracks,' Ianto stated. Jack nodded in agreement. He began pacing as he thought it through.

'Say she did find some ancient text a few years ago,' he said, walking from Ianto's station to Gwen's and back again as he talked. 'She gathers a group of followers. It was several years ago when she was younger then and less experienced. They begin planning their rituals, gathering information from multiple ancient ceremonies and start cobbling them together. It could be that they don't get the right combination at first. They start experimenting.'

'Then the first accidental sacrifice happens,' Gwen said with a nod. 'But why wait so long to pick up again?' Jack frowned as he thought.

'They got hit by a surge of power from what happened,' Ianto said from behind him. 'It drove at least one member of the group mad, remember.'

'True,' Jack said. He continued to pace to the point where Aeron James wondered if he was going to wear a hole in the floor. Gwen was still listening on the headset, but was continuing to monitor both conversations at once - the one over the hill and the one in the room. Aeron smiled in admiration and not for the first time wished that she hadn't left the force. 'Okay, say that was the case. They then realised the type of power that they could draw, but they had to figure out a way to contain it. So they continue to refine their ceremony. Maybe they work small and so what they're doing fell outside everyone's radars. Animals, other things, stuff that allowed them to gain knowledge but not alert anyone.'

'Then they tried again,' Ianto said. 'They somehow link some of the sacred standing stones to the rituals and find that they need to do it in a certain order.' Jack nodded. 'Their experiments bring them some power and they grow more confident. They think they're smarter than the male dominated world around them and think that they can outwit them. So they put their plan into motion.' He swore softly and Jack stopped abruptly and turned to look at him.

'What?' Was all Jack asked.

'God, I'm stupid,' Ianto muttered. He turned and started doing some sort of search. Windows popped up on the screen, each with some old documents that looked much like what Andy had been looking at in the library at the enclave. Ianto moved his mouse and images flipped as if it were a picture book. 'We know that they had to do this in a certain amount of time in order to fully realize the power that they were raising. They have to know that we would have found the first sacrifice because it was in central Cardiff, but they don't necessarily know that we've dismantled the others. So either they don't care because once the power is raised dismantling it doesn't matter, or they don't know that the magic has been disrupted.' Jack nodded, following his logic as he went. Ianto finally stopped his search and focused on a photo of a faded document. 'This is where I got the timetable for what they were doing. Presumably they have a similar document that they got their information from.' He expanded the image, reading it closely. Aeron James peered closer, but couldn't understand the writing that was there. Ianto looked up at Jack. 'If they do another sacrifice without the others, they'll raise the goddesses all right, but have no means to control them.'

'How so?' Jack asked. Ianto went on to explain that the final sacrifice had to be somewhere within the perimeter of the others. They had assumed that it was somewhere close by, but they couldn't be certain.

'I've checked out all the possibilities nearby, but they don't really fit,' Ianto said. He frowned at the screen before him before rubbing his eyes tiredly. 'The pieces are in place, but we're missing something.' Jack stopped where he was and moved behind Ianto. He put his hands on the other man's shoulders and Aeron looked away, oddly embarrassed for some reason. Gwen smiled at him and turned back to her monitor displays as well. She could hear Jack speaking in a low voice to Ianto. She couldn't make out the words, but she knew he was encouraging him. Ianto nodded and Jack gave him a last squeeze before turning away.

'Right,' he said with a clap of his hands. 'We'll find the location or they'll lead us to it. Either way, we're going to have to be ready.' Aeron James sighed. He ran his fingers through his hair.

'We're ready on our end. Just say the word and we'll head out. If it's following them, fine. If it's cutting them off before they start, even better.' He looked up at Jack. 'Or do we have to catch them in the act?' He felt rather uncomfortable about that idea, because any delay could be Andy or the other man's death.

'We need the location. We need to shut it all down. The power has been called and it needs to be dispersed,' Jack said, matching Aeron's sigh. 'It's going to be close, I grant you. But we'll stop them before they can do anything to either of them. So we have to wait for them to make the move.' He turned where he stood. 'Ianto, go rest. They're not going to be quizzing Andy anymore in the state he's in. We need you to be ready.' Ianto swiveled in his chair and stared at Jack for a long moment before nodding tiredly. 'You're the only one who can do this.'

'Yeah, I know.' Ianto glanced over at Gwen who tapped her headset.

'I'll keep watch,' she promised. 'I've heard enough that I can prompt him if he needs it. Just go lie down,' she urged her team mate. Ianto took off the headset and put it on the desk. Aeron stepped into his place and took the seat, surprising both of the other men in the room.

'The least I can do is to feel useful. Anything comes up that sounds suspicious and I'll come get you,' he promised. Ianto smiled tiredly.

'Thank you, Aeron.' He said in a quiet tone before turning and leaving the room. They heard the sound of his feet going up the stairs. Jack stared after him for a long moment before he left the room to head outside, leaving Gwen and Aeron alone.

'Gwen, you've done well for yourself,' Aeron said, sitting back in his chair and looking over in her direction. 'When you were on the force I would never have imagined you sitting here today.'

'People change,' was all she said. She cocked her head to one side, her dark hair falling back over her shoulder as she listened to the conversation for a few minutes. It was mainly the women debating some esoteric point. Andy was sitting with his head resting against the back of the chair, not really paying attention to what was going on. They really didn't need to see anything and they had the hearing aid to keep them informed of what was going on. Gwen really couldn't blame Andy. The poor man was fighting whatever they were putting in his food as well as struggling with all of the terminology going around. She smiled into her hand. Andy was such a trooper. She really owed him one for this. She glanced sideways as she heard footsteps on the stairs again. Aeron had the headset on and didn't seem to notice. Her boss was trying to be discreet. She stifled a giggle, knowing that Ianto really did need rest, but Jack was sometimes as subtle as a bull in a china shop. She got up and got both Aeron and herself some more coffee before going back to watching the enclave.

Several hours passed and the evening grew later without much progress on the group over the hill. One of the DIs was in the kitchen cooking for the team. Gwen closed her eyes tiredly and sniffed appreciatively at the smells coming out of the other room. 'If that's bacon butties you're making, I'll love you forever,' she called out.

DI Tom Drake poked his face through the doorway and grinned at her. 'I'm telling your husband about that,' he said with a laugh. He put his hand up to his head, mimicking making a phone call. 'Hello, Rhys? About your wife,' he began as his voice drifted off. She laughed and felt refreshed. The tension of the last couple of days had been getting to her.

'Didn't know you were hiring comedians these days,' she said. She was able to sit back as Andy was back in his room. He was lying down on the bed and had his eyes closed. Poor love, she thought. He really was exhausted by all this.

'I need someone to laugh at, after all,' Aeron replied with a smile. 'And Tom's good at cooking, so we even get to eat a solid meal occasionally while on a stakeout.'

'Good to see your criteria revolves around the stomach,' she said with a grin. She twirled back and forth in her chair. 'Not that I'm saying that's a bad thing, mind you.'

'Think he goes both ways? Because I could kiss him for a taste of that bacon,' Jack said from the doorway, making them jump. He walked through, hands in his pockets, his braces down around his hips.

'Don't think he's your sort,' Gwen told him, watching as Aeron tried not to choke on his coffee. She held up her hands. 'I know, everyone is your sort.'

'Variety is the spice of life,' Jack quipped as he made his way over to where Aeron was sitting. 'Anything new?' The DCI turned back to the monitors, suddenly aware that he hadn't been paying attention. The screens were dark and the monitors silent. 'Looks like PC Davidson is asleep.'

'Seemed like a good idea,' Gwen told him. 'I told him to see if he could avoid eating anything for a while. Tell them he has an upset stomach or something and see if we can get the effects of that stuff to wear off a bit.' Jack nodded in agreement before going into the kitchen to get some fresh coffee. A short time later Ianto came down the stairs, looking as immaculate as usual, though he was wearing casual clothes. It seemed to Gwen that the only time she saw him out of a suit was when they headed into the Beacons. She hoped to herself that wasn't an omen. Gwen could see that Aeron watched him as he accepted a cup of coffee from Jack. She smiled, seeing them with fresh eyes. Then with a shrug she turned back to the screens.

'Hold on a second,' she said, getting everyone's attention. 'I just heard something.' She leaned forward and turned up the speaker volume. They could hear the light snoring that indicated Andy was definitely asleep. But then they heard something else. Ianto moved forward and put his mug down on Gwen's desk.

'Door?' He asked. Gwen nodded, frowning at the sound. The sound of feet moving closer meant someone was coming over to the bed. Ianto turned towards Jack. 'Do we try and wake him?'

'No,' Jack said, raising a hand in a hold position. 'They're not going to harm him in bed. That wouldn't make sense. Maybe someone's there to wake him for dinner.'

'At what, nine o'clock in the evening?' Aeron asked. 'It might be dinner for us, but not for them.' They all stopped speaking as they heard the springs on the bed creak. 'Maybe one of those women have something else in mind.' They listened carefully, no one moving as Tom Drake came through the doorway with a plate of sandwiches for them. He put them on the edge of one of the desks and waited. This was the first time he had seen the set up that Torchwood had going and it took a moment to process it all.


	21. Chapter 21

Back at the enclave Andy was dreaming. He smiled, thinking about the girl of his dreams finally saying yes and coming to bed with him. He felt her light caresses, feather touches that felt like phantom kisses on his skin. He moaned and rolled onto his side. The touches continued and he exhaled softly. He started to wake as he felt the brush of something against his lips. He could smell something. A flowery smell along with something else. He turned his head, seeking to identify it.

'Shhhhh,' a soft voice said. At the base camp Jack raised an eyebrow. Andy turned towards the sound. 'It's all right, Dai. Everything will be all right.'

Andy woke up. He was still feeling pretty blurry around the edges, but a jolt of adrenalin was helping to clear his mind. He opened his eyes, but the room was dark. He started to scramble over to the edge of the bed, towards the candle he vaguely remembered being there.

'Oh no, can't have that now,' the voice said. 'No need for the lights, my love. Just need you and me for a cuddle.' The mattress sank behind him and he exclaimed as he felt something cut him. 'Oh, shhh, not to worry.'

'What did you do?' He cried. His head was suddenly swirling, his thoughts muddled. 'Oh my god, I'm going to be sick.' He coughed, feeling the need to retch.

'No, you're not,' the woman's voice told him. He felt hands pushing him back down onto the bed and his hair being stroked. His body was tingling, the extremities feeling hot. 'You're going to be fine, love. We're just going to have a little party is all.'

'What was that?' His voice sounded like it was slurring and he knew he should panic, but the emotion felt very far away. He began breathing heavily. 'What did you do?'

'Just something to make you relax, love,' he was told. He felt hands on his shirt, unbuttoning the buttons. 'Here, let me help you.'

'Why are you undressing me?' He asked as he tried to bat her hands away. He felt totally uncoordinated. 'What are you doing?'

'Not to worry, love. Just a few more buttons here. There!' The voice cried in satisfaction. 'Deryn will be here in a moment and we just want to make sure that you will be acceptable.'

'What?' Andy asked. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, as if any moment it would escape its confines. 'Why?' A door opened and light spilled in from the hallway. Though Andy's eyes were drifting open and closed, it finally gave the base camp the ability to see what was going on. Already Tom Drake and Aeron James had left the cottage and were gearing up to go. Jack was suiting up, pulling his suspenders up and looking around for his greatcoat.

'This is it,' Jack said as he opened a locker and grabbed a gun to supplement his Webley. Ianto had reached for his jacket and was putting it on, then turned to Jack with the greatcoat in his hands. He helped Jack put it on, smoothing the fabric over the shoulders. 'The trunk is in the SUV?'

'Yeah,' Ianto said. He turned to Gwen who was still listening intently. 'Let's switch this to the mobile unit. I'll go set that up and will contact you to transfer.' Gwen nodded and he turned and left the cottage. A few minutes later his voice echoed in her headset and she shut down her end of the monitoring, effectively handing it over to Ianto in the SUV.

'Let's go,' Jack said decisively. Outside they met up with CID. 'We have two choices. One is to just take them in their complex.' DCI James nodded. He was now all business. The time for waiting was over and his team was ready for action.

'Or we wait until they go to this site you know is nearby,' he finished and Jack nodded. 'Chances are they won't hurt Andy past what has already happened because they need him intact for the sacrifice. But we'll have far less time than if we get them now.'

'But if we don't find the location, we can't shut this down permanently,' Jack told him. From what Ianto had told them, should any of them escape they might be able to raise the goddesses at a later point. So they really needed to get everyone this time and shut it all down once and for all. 'My vote is to follow.'

Aeron James stared at the captain for a long moment before he nodded. 'Agreed. We can't have this happening several years from now when these women gather their power again. Let's follow them. How good is your tracking on the move?'

'Excellent,' Ianto said as he leaned out the open door of the SUV. He was seated in the back with all of the equipment facing him. 'We're all set.' James nodded and he turned back to Jack.

'Let me go with you. My team will follow behind,' he said. Jack hesitated. Gwen pulled herself into the front seat and began to belt herself in. 'Please.'

Jack gazed at Ianto and Aeron James felt like a conversation had passed between them with just that one look. A moment later Jack nodded.

'In the back with Ianto,' he instructed, gesturing with his hand to the other side of the vehicle. 'And don't touch anything!' Aeron James nodded his acquiescence and made a hand motion to his staff to follow them before getting into the back seat. There were displays in front of him built into the back of the front seat of the SUV. Each of them showed some information – satellite tracking, medical information on Andy, and stuff that he couldn't even begin to comprehend. Glancing over, he saw that Ianto was looking at different displays.

'Do me a favour,' Ianto asked without looking towards him. 'Monitor those vitals. In particular the red and yellow lines. Should they go higher than 70 percent, warn me.' He was busily tapping at the keyboard in front of him. Aeron nodded, and focused on what he needed to monitor. Jack had gotten into the front seat and had started the engine. Gwen was already on the radio to the CID team in the other car.

'All right, we're going over, but we're going to hang back long enough to be able to follow them,' she was telling the men in the other vehicle. 'We've mapped out several nearby locations where they might go, but until they choose a direction we'll need to wait. Once we have a direction, we'll send that info to you in case we get separated.' She waited until she got a confirmation from the driver of the other car, who was Edmund Sorles. She looked over at Jack. 'We're ready.'

'Good,' he said. He shifted the gear and the tyres spat the loose gravel out onto the grass until the SUV got some traction. He turned around in front of the cottage and started heading back out on the dirt road that led to the paved area at the bottom of the hill. 'Strap in kids, it's going to be a wild one.'

Gwen and Ianto remained silent but did what they were told, as did Aeron James. Both of the operatives were busy monitoring and gathering information. Aeron looked back at the screens in front of him. He had a job to do as well, so he concentrated on the medical information that they were getting on Andy. He didn't know if this was coming from the contacts that he was wearing or whether they had planted something else on him, but silently he marveled at their ingenuity.

This was his first time on the inside of their operation. Despite the fact that they had lost two operatives during the bombings a while back, they had never faltered in what they did. The same traits that made him consider them a pain in the arse when interrupting one of his investigations were their greatest asset to him now. He smiled wryly to himself as he considered the change in his own viewpoint. He glanced over briefly at Ianto whose eyes were focused intently on the displays before him. He was feeding information to Jack as he drove. Aeron glanced over to the man in front of him. Jack wasn't speaking, but taking in the information that both Ianto and Gwen were giving him.

Jack was an enigma. Even after days of watching him, Aeron still couldn't figure him out. But it was obvious that both Ianto and Gwen were fiercely loyal. He did have to admire the man, even if he was a pain in the arse. Aeron smiled to himself. He knew that his men would say the same about himself. Maybe that's why Jack knocked heads with so many people. He did what he had to in order to get the job done. Just like himself. He looked out the window as they hit a bump. Jack seemed to be making his own road, having abandoned the rutted dirt road at some point. Hopefully they wouldn't turn up in a ditch.

'They're on the move,' Ianto said. He glanced over at Aeron's monitors. 'Andy's with them. Good, I was afraid that they might try to take the hearing aid.'

'Is that how we're tracking him?' Aeron asked. Ianto shook his head.

'No, but with it we can still monitor what is going on in their transit van,' Ianto replied. Gwen already had a headset on and was listening in. She had nothing to report as all was silent in the van. Eerily so, if she were to tell the truth. She glanced in the side view mirror and could see that DCI James was scanning his displays intently. Further back she could see the headlights of the other car that was following behind them. She felt like time had accelerated and that it was all coming to a head. She just hoped that they would stop them so that they never had the opportunity to do this sort of thing again.

'Which way are they headed?' Jack asked. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he waited impatiently for a response.

'Northeast at the moment,' Ianto responded. 'But that still doesn't give us a direction.' Jack nodded to show that he understood. Aeron's teeth banged together as they hit a bump and a moment later their ride smoothed out as they were finally on a paved road. Jack slowed down, waiting for some direction on which way to head. Aeron had studied the maps and knew that there were a number of forks up ahead. Their current position was southwest of the enclave. He understood the caution of needing to stay back when it was unclear what kind of technology the women may have in their van, but he also felt impatient with having to wait. His body wanted action.

'How's he doing?' Jack asked Aeron with a glance over his shoulder to the other man. Aeron looked down and scanned Andy's vitals again. The longer he looked the more it was beginning to make sense to him.

'He's okay. He was a little distressed by whatever they gave him and tried to struggle a bit, but now that they're in the van he's just quieted down. I don't know if that's the drugs or whether he is just be cautious,' the DCI replied.

'It all depends on what kind of a dose they gave him,' Ianto mused. 'It's unclear from the toxicology on the other victims whether they were drugged at the time of the ceremony or prior to that and then left in that receptive state for the sacrifice. There was definite signs of hallucinogens in the thorns we removed so this is probably just a sedative to make him manageable enough to handle until they get to their destination. Which is apparently to the east, Jack. But they're not heading to any cairns that I can see unless it is one not recognised by the heritage foundation.' Ianto sat up and leaned forward to give directions to Jack. 'They're on the move. They're heading towards Rhaglan.'

'Which is?' Jack audibly sighed.

'A40 towards Monmouth. This isn't heading in the direction of anything I had thought, so it's not one of the locations that Daniel had mentioned,' Ianto said, referring to the other victim that they had found. Jack hit the gas pedal and the SUV surged forward like a beast after prey. Aeron supposed that was an apt description.

'How are you able to keep on getting the satellite data while moving?' He asked Ianto in a low voice. Gwen was talking to Jack, itemizing the list of artillery they had in the boot.

'The top has a built in receiver dish,' Ianto explained, all the while tapping on the touch sensitive screens to zoom in the area. Aeron could see that there was a moving dot not too far in front of them. Jack was keeping them back enough not to show up in their rearview mirror. It would look strange to have so much traffic on a relatively quiet country lane in the evening, he thought.

'Follow the signs for Monmouth,' Ianto instructed. 'Not sure where they'll be headed from there, but we'll just have to track them.' Jack nodded without responding in any other way and Ianto sat back again. He pulled up some other window on one of his displays and Aeron could see him doing a search for historical landmarks in the area. It looked like he was trying to at least narrow down the choices now that they knew that none of the three preselected locations was the correct endpoint.

'What's out this way?' Aeron asked quietly, not wanting to disturb the discussion of tactics going on in the front seat. He was intrigued by what Ianto was doing. It was interesting. Each of the Torchwood team had unique skills that they were able to use independently. Before this case, Aeron had always assumed that with Jack's demeanor and appearance that he was the one calling the shots and directing his staff. From what he had seen over the last few days alone, it was obvious that each of them had a role and worked independently. Jack relied on Gwen's local knowledge and instincts in regard to police work while Ianto was clearly more the researcher and technical expert. Not that Gwen hadn't handled the technology as well, but they each had their own forté and it was definitely a partnership rather than the top down structure that he had assumed prior to this job they were on.

'A lot of little things, nothing that I can easily pinpoint as something that would attract the Adoliat,' Ianto responded. He didn't seem to mind answering the questions posed and Aeron appreciated that. 'There's quite a few caves and hill forts in the region, but nothing else that I've been able to find.'

'What criteria are you looking for?' Aeron asked curiously.

'Something that has ties to a strong female presence,' Ianto said. 'Ironic in an area known for the male dominated Arthurian legends. But there are many areas which could be considered goddess blessed.' He grew quiet as he scanned the map, clicking on individual stones and getting the data for them before going on to another onto the next. Periodically he would glance over to the other display which was tracking their quarry. The dot was still moving along A40. Aeron looked back to his own displays, but the readings were the same. 'Got it.'

'Where?' Jack asked. He shifted in his seat, ready to move, not that they could really pass those that they were following.

'Not sure how I missed this one earlier, other than it isn't in Wales,' Ianto muttered. Aeron looked alarmed. He was already so far out of his jurisdiction that crossing the border probably didn't matter, but should it get down to it, he and his team would do whatever they had to. Obviously the Torchwood team didn't have any issues regarding authority. 'They should be taking a fork right after the town onto the A4229. If I'm right, they'll need to cross a river.'

'By car?' Jack asked. He had to fight the urge to accelerate. It went against his nature to hang back. 'Is there any other way to get there?'

'No, not really,' Ianto replied. 'There's no passage across the river that I can see other than going around to the B4432, unless someone made a way to ford it at the bend of the river. So they probably have a boat waiting.'

'How are we going to get across?' Aeron asked. He peered out the window into the night, but other than a few lights on in homes as they passed, it was pitch black outside now. Even Jack was forced to slow down to accommodate the twists and turns in the road.

'That's not a problem,' Jack informed him as he took the next curve a little sharply and everyone swayed to the right. 'What's the site?' He asked Ianto.

'The Cwen Stone,' Ianto informed them. 'Otherwise known as the Queen's or Woman's Stone.' He was flicking through some documents on the computer so fast that Aeron couldn't follow what he was doing. 'It's on private land, and the stone dates back to the Bronze Age. The owner is said to actively discourage visits because he doesn't want nutters taking over the land.'

'A bit too late for that I think,' Gwen said. Aeron tended to agree with her, not that the poor landowner knew what was about to happen on his property.

'Be that as it may, the stone is significant because of the strong female presence, which is exactly the sort of thing they're looking for,' Ianto continued. 'Local legend has this rock being used by people over the years as a focal point for worship by pagan groups. Probably why the current owner is so keen to keep that from happening again.'

'Understandably,' Gwen replied. 'It would be a bit hard to plow a field with people trying to worship amongst the crops, wouldn't it?'

'Well, whatever the current owner thinks, he's going to be in for a bit of a surprise tonight,' Jack murmured. 'Ianto, I know you said that there was a time period that they had to work. Was that because of the previous workings or because there's a significance to the time or year?'

'A little of both, really. They started these because of the ancient calendar dates are aligning with the time of year that would be most beneficial towards calling the goddesses. But once they started the sacrifices, that would then constrain them to a certain window in which they have to complete all of the rituals in order to raise the maximum amount of power,' Ianto replied. 'If I've read this right, this will be the one that will bring the goddesses back into the natural world.'

'Can they really do that?' Aeron asked. Ianto glanced over at him and nodded. 'Then these goddesses are real?'

'Not necessarily,' Jack replied. 'It could be anything. It could also be some sort of outside influences that are perceived as gods because in ancient times their technology was so advanced that it seemed magical.'

'Aliens?' Aeron asked, trying not to sound skeptical. After the events over the past few years with what had happened in London and with the Earth being moved, the threat of aliens was all too real these days. He wasn't sure which was worse, to have to deal with an alien race posing as gods or the real thing sprung from legend. 'Wouldn't they be a bit decrepit by now?'

'Not necessarily,' Jack responded, unfazed by the note of disbelief coming from the DCI. 'If you have a race that uses a form of cryogenics, these rituals could actually trigger some old response mechanism designed to start the revival process. It's not unheard of, actually.'

'So alien races habitually park themselves on lower tech worlds and act as gods?' Gwen asked. Jack shrugged.

'Maybe. It would be one hell of an ego trip for some races, I bet,' Jack replied. He was still concentrating on his driving and slowed down as they took another curve. They were getting close now, and needed to have a plan on how they were going to interrupt the Adoliat's sacrifice. 'Or they could have been trapped on the planet and are hiding in suspended animation until someone can come to rescue them.'

'Send out a distress signal and wait several millennia for someone to come find you?' Gwen mused. 'I suppose, though you'd think they'd show up a little faster.'

'Depends on where the distress signal is headed,' Jack said. 'Space is pretty vast, you know. Finding one ship on a planet in the middle of a different galaxy cluster might not be on the first order of support for the galactic RAC.'

'That's assuming it is alien in nature, which at the moment I doubt,' Ianto responded. Jack just shrugged. Once he had an idea, it was tough for him to let go and he was a cynic at heart.

Aeron just shook his head. Listening to them talk, it all sounded so common place. Perhaps for them, it was. They were used to dealing with this sort of thing all the time. Aeron tried to imagine how that would change someone like Gwen. He looked in the side view mirror and watched her expression. She was nodding in agreement to what Jack was saying. To them it was something common to consider an intergalactic roadside recovery organization out there that might pick up alien stragglers that way. He marveled to himself that they could be so nonchalant about this sort of thing and wondered what else they had encountered in the past to make them seem so blasé.

'They're stopping,' Ianto announced and Aeron peered ahead but could see nothing beyond the lights of the SUV. Jack nodded and pulled over. They hadn't reached the cutoff road yet, so they were still some distance from their quarry.

'Let's do some planning,' he said. The night was illuminated by the headlights of the police vehicle behind them with Aeron's DIs. 'We need to coordinate how we're going to interrupt their little ritual.' Without another word, he opened up his door and got out. Gwen and Ianto were a heartbeat behind him in doing the same and Aeron found himself scrambling for the door handle to follow.

By the time he reached the back of the SUV, everyone else was standing close together. Aeron noticed that other than the purr of the engine behind him, it was almost invisible in the black night. Jack had turned off the trademark running lights that usually identified the Torchwood Rover. He was running in stealth mode and Aeron was reminded of those military planes that would fall off the radar when used for surveillance. Jack was flashy most of the time, but when it came down to it, he was all business when he had to be.

'All right,' Jack said as he rubbed his hands together in the cool night air. 'This is what we have. Somewhere a little to the south of us is the place where these women are planning to do their next sacrifice. That isn't going to happen. We are going to interrupt them, stop the ritual and reverse it so that they can never do this sort of thing ever again.'

'How are we going to do that?' Tom Drake asked. He was looking nervously out into the night. Nearby something was rustling. Aeron inhaled deeply, smelling the sweet grass that was growing nearby. It was quiet, other than the sound of the two engines on either side of them.

'Don't worry, we'll handle that. The time is an important junction and just as they hope to raise these goddesses that they worship, it is also a great time to shut it down altogether. Ianto is in charge of that,' Jack continued. Ianto nodded once. 'What we need your help with is getting to the stone and stopping them from sacrificing Andy Davidson. We're going to need a distraction as well. Something that will stop them long enough so that we can get Ianto in place.'

'We can do that,' Aeron responded. 'Nothing is going to happen to PC Davidson.'

'Can we count on him being able to break away and help?' Edmund Sorles asked, his eyes shifting anxiously from the Torchwood team to his supervisor. Aeron shook his head.

'No, he's been drugged. The best we can hope is that he might be able to get away while we stop them. If not, one of us is going to have to go in and get him to safety,' Aeron replied.

'I'll take care of that,' Gwen said. She had pulled a Glock out of her jacket and checked the clip before resetting the safety and placing it back wherever she stored it. The men nodded. They had seen her shoot before so knew she could handle herself. She turned to Jack. 'How do we want to go in?'

'Ianto said that they need to cross the river. Presumably they have some sort of boat. Since it is private land on the other side I doubt that there is any kind of dock with a boat or two we can nick, so we're going to have to circle around to where we can cross the river. We'll do that and head north across the field to the stone.'

'That's going to give them one heck of a head start,' Aeron said. Jack nodded.

'It can't be helped. Besides, we need them at a certain point before we can interrupt them and shut this down,' he replied. 'So we have to get moving. But this is what I want you to do.' He began to outline his plan and the three Welsh police detectives nodded in understanding. They had a job to do and were happy to play their part. They'd protect their own and shut down this rogue group that had been doing all of the killings in their own backyard.

Once they had worked out the details as much as they could, both groups got into their vehicles and started moving. This time Aeron rode with his detectives as they followed behind the Torchwood SUV. They took the branching road off the A40. Shortly afterwards they got a radio call that Ianto had located the transit van on this side of the river. It was tucked away in the woods and as they passed the area Tom Drake peered out the window but couldn't see anything. Either way, their quarry was on the move and now on foot after crossing the river. Hopefully that would slow them down enough for them to get into place.

They circled around the bend of the river until they came to another crossroads. In the dark they would have missed it without the SUV leading the way. There were no road lights at all, so they were moving in the dark. Aeron sat in the front passenger seat, thinking that the night seemed all the more darker than it should. Perhaps it had something to do with the upcoming ritual, he thought. There was an air of expectancy that he felt. Maybe it was just his own feeling of anticipation for action. Or it had something to do with the fact that these women had knowingly opened some connection with something that they really shouldn't have. Whether it was really ancient goddesses or an alien race sleeping under the earth's crust was a matter of interpretation. Either way, whatever it was shouldn't be roused and they were there to stop it. He wasn't sure which would be worse, to be honest.

Edmund slowed down as the tail lights on the SUV glared red in front of them. It had stopped and peering through the window, Aeron could see that a door had opened and Ianto had stepped out. He moved off into the shadows and a moment later they heard a gate squeak. They had reached the field entrance. Aeron knew from what he had seen of the maps that the stone lay on the other side of the field, closest to the river. Jack drove the SUV through the gate and Ianto walked over to the police Rover.

'We're going to have to go in completely dark. There's a dirt track here but it should be easy to travel because of the field right now,' he said, indicating the long stalks on either side of the road. 'Once we kill the lights we'll have to work off of natural light, but it shouldn't be too hard once your eyes adjust. We'll try and get as close as we dare, but at some point we're going to have to leave the road and cross the field to get to the stone on foot. We'll keep radio silence other than in an emergency.' The three men nodded and Ianto smiled. 'Don't worry, we'll stop them this time. We're on the scene and they have no place to go.' The other men nodded again and with a wave Ianto stepped back through the open gate and got back into the SUV. The last the Welsh police saw of it was the tail lights flickering off as Jack started to make his way up the long track across the field.

'Here we go,' Edmund muttered as he slowly accelerated behind the SUV. Once they entered the field it felt like they were on their own. The stalks of barley wheat were taller than their Rover and obscured much of the light to see by with their waving fronds. It was only the occasional glint of light reflecting off the metal of the vehicle in front of them that let them know that the Torchwood team hadn't been swallowed up and that they were on the right track. Aeron peered ahead, trying to see anything that would be useful. His eyes slowly adjusted and even though the light of the moon was dim in the field, he thought he could see enough now to define the edges of the road they were on. He hoped it wasn't his imagination and that DI Sorles could see well enough to continue to drive.


	22. Chapter 22

The dirt track seemed to go on forever. Aeron knew it had to be an illusion because they had already circled the field on the roadway, so if anything they were cutting directly across towards the bend of the river where the stone lay. But the utter darkness and silence as well as the tension they were all feeling stretched reality to an almost dreamlike state.

Edmund Sorles suddenly cursed and jerked the wheel to one side, narrowly missing something that loomed up in front of them. They ended up partly in the barley before they stopped. Aeron got out and pushed his way through the mangled stalks back to the road before pausing. It was impossible to see much of anything in the darkness and the sounds of his two DIs crashing their way through the barley obscured any other sounds at the moment. Once they were all on the track he held up a hand for silence. Tom Drake was breathing heavily and had a gun out, but lowered it on Aeron's silent command. They listened.

The dark shape that blocked the road was the Torchwood SUV. It was empty as Aeron shaded his eyes against the glass to peer through the tinted window. He could hear the ticking sound of the engine cooling, so they had only just arrived. He moved back to walk along the narrow track, looking for signs that the team had started to cut through the field to the stone. A gasp behind him made him turn around and a moment later he saw a shadow pass between himself and his men. He turned around and headed back.

It was Gwen. She gestured them closer and Aeron blinked as he saw she had other guns slung over her shoulder.

'Jack and Ianto have gone up ahead with the supplies. They'll be due east of the stone and Ianto will prepare what he needs to do from there. Jack will then move to the north to cover that direction. Aeron, I need you and your men to guard the other quadrants. We don't think they're going to run at this point. There's too much at stake. But we want to be able to contain them. No one gets away from this to start anew if we can help it.' The men nodded. 'All right then, let's get started.'

'Where are you going to be?' Tom Drake asked her.

'I'm going in to interrupt their little soiree and get Andy out of there,' she said with a smile and flexed the shoulder with the gun on it. 'I think I'll be able to persuade them to let him go.' The men nodded. With hand signals they gestured to one another and started in through the barley, walking single file until they were close enough to the stone clearing to be able to see what was going on and to move into position. There was a faint glow off in the distance and they knew that they were heading in the right direction. Gwen slipped away first, silent in the night. A short time later, Edmund headed west and Tom stayed where he was, leaving Aeron to go east.

He began shifting in that direction, trying to stay as quiet as possible so as not to give away what they were doing. As he got closer he could hear the sounds of people moving around. They were using some sort of light for illumination and a gap through the plants showed him that they were using candles. Great, he thought sourly. They now had to deal with the potential of avoiding a fire in the field as well. He wasn't sure if the barley was still green enough to resist burning, but he didn't want to take the chance of having to find out. He found a position where he could observe what was going on and crouched down to wait.

There seemed to be about eleven women that he could easily see. Funny, he kind of wondered whether it would be thirteen and realized he was assuming a witches coven. He thought about that for a moment and wondered where the time had come about that he would ever think in such terms. Was this what it was like working for Torchwood? Anticipating which kind of a cult one had to deal with in order to stop them? Perhaps. But he shook his head to clear his thoughts and began observing what they were doing. He didn't see Andy at first and wondered where he was.

On the other side of the field Ianto knelt down with a pen sized torch between his teeth. He opened the trunk that he and Jack had lugged through the barley and had placed in a small clearing not too far from where the Adoliat was getting ready to perform their ritual. He couldn't see them, but didn't need to at the moment. He felt Jack's hand on his shoulder and appreciated the tight grip as a sign of support before the other man slipped through the shadows and into the barley stalks as he headed towards his position. Ianto could hear the faint sound of his movements before they faded away into the night. Very carefully he pulled what he needed out of the trunk and placed the items on the open lid. Something rolled away but was stopped by the lip of the lid. He ignored that in favour of getting all of the supplies out, his tiny torch giving just enough light to work with. Instead of his usual suit he was in jeans and a dress shirt. He rolled up his sleeves to keep them out of the way. He needed to be prepared since all of this rested on him to complete the ritual that would shut down the group forever.

Gwen knelt in the field and waited, watching the group in the field like a hawk. She saw when the women assisted a very groggy and pliable Andy Davidson into view. His head was lolling to one side, but his motor skills were such that with their assistance they were able to get him to move. The women sat him down on a box and two of them began to strip him of his clothing. He seemed unaware of their actions.

Edmund Sorles stopped moving when he saw what they were doing to PC Davidson. He glanced around the edges of the clearing, but none of the others could be easily seen. He wasn't sure when they were going to move, but apparently the Torchwood folks needed some time to do their preparation. He fingered the safety catch on his department issued weapon. He hoped they didn't have to wait too long to move. He shifted restlessly from one foot to another and wished he could smoke a cig. Instead, he waited for someone to make the first move.

To the south DI Tom Drake made his way to his position. In his opinion the six of them were not enough to contain a group of twelve or more. At least not without deadly force, which he didn't want to resort to himself. He crept as close as he could to the edge of the clearing. The candles the cult were using weren't enough to illuminate the whole clearing, but shed enough light to assist in their set up for their ritual. He ran a hand through his short cropped blond hair and frowned. All of what had happened with this group had made the hair stand up on the back of his neck. It wasn't right playing with this sort of thing. He never had considered himself devout at all, but after investigating this group he found a need to go to his local parish. There was something just so wrong about what they were doing that it made him feel dirty. He hunched his shoulders, feeling unknown eyes on him. Did these gods they were trying to restore really exist? At one time he would have said he was sceptical, but after seeing the events over the last week, he found himself doubting much of what he knew or thought he knew about the world around him. He just wanted this over, and hopefully in the least dangerous way possible. He hoped the Torchwood team knew what they were doing, because they were the only ones who were going to be able to stop this thing permanently.

North of the clearing Jack knelt down and waited. If any of the CID people had seen him, they would have likened him to a big game hunter, quietly waiting for the dangerous animal to make a move so he could best predict where it was going to attack. He peered through the stalks of barley and watched patiently. The smell of the flowering plants around him reminded him of many times in the past when he had spent time in the country. Past battles, times of peace and other times when he had run away from things he had done passed through his thoughts as he waited.

He let those thoughts drift through his mind, not really thinking of anything at all. He glanced down and pushed up the sleeve of his greatcoat, revealing the leather strap of his vortex manipulator. Flipping open the cover he looked down at the dim face, scanning it. All was quiet, but he knew it wouldn't remain that way for long. They were nearly at the appointed time. He knew his team would be ready. This all focused on Gwen and Ianto. The rest of them were there to make sure no one got away. He closed his eyes and breathed in, trying to relax. The workings of the last week had strengthened his awareness of the bond he shared with Ianto. At some point in the future it was going to be something that would cause him great pain, but for now this was their greatest strength in their fight against the Adoliat. He undid the leather strap which secured his Webley and rested his hand on his leg, ready.

Not too far from Ianto, Gwen waited patiently. She felt a slow burning anger and nursed it carefully. This was what would spur her on when she needed it. She could hear Ianto shifting things about quietly and looked in his direction. When his torch went out she knew he was ready. She waited a few more moments, wanting everyone to get into position. Then she started making her way towards the clearing. It was time to get Andy out of there.


	23. Chapter 23

Andy felt the cold night air against his skin and shivered. Everything was a blur as a progression of women's faces passed in front of him. Someone he vaguely recognized with long reddish hair led him carefully across the field until they were near some sort of rock. He stared at it uncomprehendingly. It had ripples in it, the warm glow of the candlelight emphasizing the stark shadows in between the rivulets of stone that stuck out on the side.

'Let us begin,' a low voice called and immediately each of the women gathered around him in a circle. He felt something being removed from his ear and he frowned. For some reason he thought he wasn't supposed to let that happen, but he seemed unable to muster enough care to do more than stare blankly at the petite blonde woman who had reached up to his face. She pulled her hand down and he saw something was in it before she turned away from him. One by one each of the women began to disrobe.

'Dai,' a voice called. He didn't respond. A moment later the name was called again and he looked around, feeling foggy. He didn't see another man about so wondered who they were looking for. Fingers touched his shoulder. 'Dai, look at me.' They shook him and he lolled his head over in that direction. A woman smiled at him before looking at someone over his shoulder. 'Maybe we gave him too much. He isn't even responding to his name.'

'It doesn't matter. Just get him in place,' the low voice commanded again. He felt something brush against him and vaguely recognized the warmth of flesh against him. The same woman pulled his head around to face her.

'Dai, look at me,' she said, speaking slowly as if he couldn't understand him. 'I need your help.' Andy blinked at her, still unable to focus on what she was saying, but he could see a smile on her face. 'We need you. And you would like to help us, wouldn't you?'

He found himself nodding. She was so pretty. He'd like to help her and see her smile again. She had something around her neck that was nestled between her breasts. She was nude, and he found himself just focused on her breasts. She stroked his arm before reaching up to the small bottle that hung from the string around her neck. Unscrewing the cap, she poured some liquid from the bottled out to her hand. Dropping the bottle so that it hung down again, she daubed her fingers into the liquid in her other hand and reached up to his face. She murmured something he didn't understand as she stroked something on his forehead with her finger. Then she did the same on his cheeks before moving down to his chest. He didn't understand any of the words, even when he tried to lean closer.

Gwen was ready. She saw that they were preparing Andy for the ritual. She heard a rustle from somewhere behind. Ianto stepped beside her. She turned her head to glance at him. It was hard to see his face in the darkness, but she saw his deliberate nod. It was time.

By this time the women were chanting. A few of them had circled Andy several times, scattering something on the ground around him. Two other women walked the perimeter. Setting the protection protocols, Gwen thought. She also knew that it wouldn't stop the team from crossing into the clearing. What they were seeking protection for was from the esoteric - the bad spirits. She stepped into the clearing.

At first no one noticed, so immersed they were in their own preparations. The head of the group, Deryn Hussey had her back to Gwen. She was the only one dressed, and she wore some type of long white dress which had a rope belt around the waist to secure it to her body. Gwen caught the sight of something glimmered in the dim candlelight at her waist, but couldn't identify what it was from where she was standing.

Deryn was chanting in a low voice and was obviously the focal point for the ceremony in terms of raising the power. Something glistened on her skin and a moment later Gwen identified it as a shimmering blood red hue. It didn't have the acrid smell of blood, so she assumed it was some sort of decoration for the ceremony. Gwen fingered her Glock inside her jacket.

'Stop what you're doing,' she called and the chanting faltered at the sound of another voice. A voice which was not part of their ceremony. Deryn turned around and stared at her. 'I can't allow you to do this.'

'And who are you?' Deryn Hussey asked, her tone affronted at the interruption. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the smaller woman behind her. She had never seen her before, but there was a feeling of authority about her that said that this woman meant business. 'You trespass on sacred ground.'

'We're on private lands and the owner would prefer you to stop what you are doing,' Gwen said, taking the tack that she was here on the request of the owner. It would give them time to take this slowly. Behind Deryn, Gwen could see that the others had stopped what they were doing, instinctively waiting for further instructions. They had Andy up against the rock. Gwen assumed they would have to get him on top to do the ceremony, though how they were going to do that was beyond her.

Deryn sneered at Gwen's comment. 'What do I care for what any man wants?' She stared contemptuously at Gwen before motioning to the group of women to continue what they were doing. 'Leave us.'

'No,' Gwen said, taking a step closer to the other woman. She was older than Gwen, but not by much. 'You will stop what you are doing.'

'Impossible!' Deryn declared. 'Leave us and we will leave after we are done. We will not bend to the will of a petty and weak man or a misguided woman who serves that man like a slave.'

On the other side of the clearing she saw Edmund Sorles slip out of the barley and clasp his hand over the mouth of one of the younger women. Restraining her arms, he pulled her back into the barley. It was like she had disappeared and none of the others saw her leave. Gwen nodded. They obviously needed a certain number to continue. Disrupt that order and they wouldn't be able to do the sacrifice.

'No, what you're going to do is impossible,' Gwen replied. 'Because we're not going to let you sacrifice anyone else to your goddesses.' The time for dissembling had past and they needed to shut this down.

The leader of the Adoliat narrowed her eyes as she stared at Gwen. 'Who are you?'

'We're Torchwood,' Jack said from the other side of the clearing, closest to the Cwen Stone and the small knot of women who were surrounding Andy. 'And I resent being called petty and weak.' He stood with his arms crossed in front of him as he confronted the leader of the cult. 'I've also waited a long time for this, sister.'

Deryn visibly recoiled at Jack's presence. 'No! This will upset the balance! There can be only one male for the dedication! You are ruining everything!' She sounded petulant, like the child denied a favorite toy. Gwen was actually waiting for her to stamp her foot.

'That's the point, Ms. Hussey,' Jack told her smugly. 'Shut it down.'

'No,' the woman replied, standing taller and looking stern again. 'I will not. We will adjust for your presence within the circle. Perhaps the Goddesses would prefer two sacrifices this evening. Yes, that would do nicely. One for each of them.'

Jack shook his head. 'I don't think so.' He took a step forward and stopped with a surprised look on his face. He scanned the grass clearing in front of him and noticed for the first time the symbols on the ground. He swore softly.

'Let no man put asunder that which happens this evening,' Deryn said with a smile. 'And we will not shut it down as you so demand.' Gwen took a step in her direction and she raised her hand to stop the other woman. The palm of her hand glowed a dull red. Gwen realized it matched the color of the lines that she had seen at the other standing stones where the sacrifices had occurred. 'So now you will stop, and let us proceed.'

'No,' Gwen shook her head. 'I can't let you kill anyone else.'

'You don't have a choice,' Deryn said. Belatedly Gwen realized that even though Jack had proved to be a distraction, it hadn't stopped the woman's preparations. Either that, or she had been far enough along to be able to reach for the power that was waiting to be called. 'I have control of the ley lines which permeate this place. We are at the appointed time and place and we will raise the goddesses tonight.'

'No, you won't,' another voice said calmly. Deryn spun around and DCI Aeron James stepped into the clearing. He made sure to watch where he was walking so he didn't get caught in the snare as Jack had. 'Because I too will stop you. You can't kill us all.'

'Oh really?' The woman's eyes were wild and before anyone could say anything else, she started chanting in earnest. Immediately a wind picked up and the stalks of barley bent under the pressure of the airflow. 'Stop us.'

Gwen had her Glock in her hand and moved into a shooting stance. 'Shut it down now, or I'll shoot,' she declared. Deryn glanced at her contemptuously before raising a palm in Gwen's direction. Gwen was knocked off her feet and thrown to the edge of the clearing. The impact knocked the air out of her lungs and she lay stunned for a moment. Deryn continued her chanting and several of her acolytes joined her, buoyed by her show of defiance.

Everything began happening at once. The wind swirled around the circle and a howl echoed across the field. Clouds began gathering, circling overhead. The women began dancing, though Jack noticed that Tom Drake had also pulled another out of the circle. No one had noticed yet, but they were now down to nine, which had to impact what they were trying to do. He looked down, trying to find a way to get out of the trap he had unwittingly stepped into. He frowned, wondering how they had been able to prepare for such a thing, or whether it had another use. But it was no good, he couldn't break it from the inside.

He tilted his head. He couldn't break it, but someone from the outside could. Gwen was down, apparently knocked unconscious by her fall. The others were busy so he closed his eyes and reached for that connection he had inside him. The link to Ianto. He lowered his internal barriers, seeking the other man. Ianto could stop this. And Jack knew he would. It was what they were here to do, after all.

One of the women opened a box at the base of the standing stone. The moment she did so, a high pitched vibration started, loud enough to hurt the ears. Jack winced, losing the thread of his concentration as the sound went through him like a knife. He spun around in his trap and stared.

Something was alive in the box. He could feel it in his bones. Because it was so dark, he couldn't see what was there, but he felt the malevolence that it generated. Now he began to worry. This wasn't something that he had been expecting. He reached out with his hands and could feel the invisible wall that held him captive. It was rippling under his fingers and he looked at Deryn. It could be that the reduction in members and the extra work she was doing was actually going to weaken her. He began pushing, looking for a weakness in the shield holding him in.

Deryn was struggling. The balance was off. Whether it was the presence of the men in the clearing that was disrupting the energy field or something else, she couldn't say. It was hard to see now that she had started calling the power to do the sacrifice. She turned towards the stone, seeing the white skin of Dai up against it. That was all she needed to concentrate on. The rest would handle itself. She took a step towards the stone and the box that lay between her and her sacrifice.

Still hidden in the barley, Ianto started to chant, the ancient Welsh words coming to his lips almost effortlessly. It was all down to this. He felt the power building, though it was faltering. Good, their interruption must be working. Gathering what he needed, he moved closer to the clearing. He needed to be able to direct his focus for the struggle to come. He stared through the stalks at the tableau in front of him. Not too far away, Gwen was on her back, unconscious. Jack seemed to be trapped and Andy was pinned against the stone, several handmaidens holding him in place while the others worked with their leader to do the ritual. A quick scan showed that their numbers were down, so the CID must have been able to reduce the group. It was time to act.

He saw that Jack as focused on the rear of the circle, pushing against it with all his might. Beyond him was a casket that lay open. Ianto stared. There was something alive in there. Something that was trying to get out. The casket was facing Andy and the stone. Ianto knew that whatever it was should not be allowed to reach him. He turned his attention back to Jack. Jack was closest and if he could get free he would be able to stop whatever it was. Ianto turned his attention in Jack's direction and began to whisper a counter spell to the one that Deryn had set.

The leader of the Adoliat spun around wildly. Something was resisting her. She couldn't identify it, but she knew that it was trying to stop her. The feeling of the magic was different from what she was familiar with and she frowned. Someone was trying to stop her. She couldn't allow this. Everything she had worked for came down to this one moment in time. There would not be another conjunction like this. Not in her lifetime, at least. She had to fight whomever it was before they succeeded in undoing all of her plans.

Jack felt the structure of the wall in front of him begin to change in texture. His fingers were able to sink through the material as if he were reaching through a thick wall of glue. But he was making progress. He continued to push, leaning against the wall with all his might. He had to get to that casket before whatever spell they were chanting set it off towards Andy. If it made contact, he was sure it would mean the other man's death and he wasn't going to have someone else sacrificed to some ancient goddesses who should stay buried where they were, in the annals of history. He concentrated and his hand began to push through to the other side. He took encouragement from it and reached further, seeking to widen the gap that his hand had made.

Gwen was slowly coming back to consciousness. She had hit a rock when she fell and she reached up to touch a growing lump on the back of her head. When she brought her hand forward, she saw blood staining her skin. She shook her head and her vision blurred in response. Not good, she thought to herself. She needed to be able to focus. She rolled over and retched, feeling sick to her stomach.

Aeron James felt like he was in the middle of a maelstrom. The wind buffeted him, making it hard to stand. Twigs, rocks and other debris whipped around him, slashing his face. He held his arms up to protect his eyes. He was effectively stopped, since he couldn't move without being able to see where he was. He looked down and started to inch towards the woman Deryn Hussey. She was wearing a white robe which didn't move in the wild wind that was whipping around, a knife tucked into the narrow rope belt around her waist. It was like she was in the eye of the storm, protected from what was going on elsewhere. He took another step. If he could get to her, he might be able to stop her. Behind her he could see Gwen stirring and being sick. It didn't look like she would be able to help at this point, so he was on his own.

Both DIs were having trouble containing the women that they had abducted. They fought like wildcats, kicking, scratching and biting. But they had been taken out of the circle and so both men hoped that it would strain the efforts of the women still there. Tom Drake swore as the girl he was restraining bit his hand. She tried to break free but he stopped her by grabbing her leg. Somewhere his handcuffs were about, but she had knocked them out of his hand when he had tried to cuff her. If he had to sit on her, he would. He grunted, not noticing the eerie silence of the night.

Jack was almost free. He had seen that Ianto had entered the clearing, standing just beyond the circle that had been created by the cult. He felt the edge of the barrier giving way and he stumbled as he finally broke through the last of it. He landed heavily down on one knee, bracing himself with a hand as he looked around. For a moment he considered just taking his Webley out and shooting Deryn Hussey, but he had a feeling that to do so would be a futile effort. Now that he was free, his goal was to protect Andy Davidson. The acolytes around the stone were gyrating, stroking his body as they moved around the stone as part of the ceremony. There was the sound of lightning crackling overhead and glancing up briefly, Jack saw that there was a small gathering of clouds the circumference of the circle swirling about overhead. Deryn's chanting grew in its intensity and he could see whatever it was that was quivering in the carved wooden casket moving about inside the box as if mirroring the whirlwind overhead. Something glinted as he peered into the darkness of the chest. It was pointed and glistened. Jack blinked before swearing. He finally knew what he was dealing with.


	24. Chapter 24

Deryn raised her arms skyward, the words of intent flowing effortlessly from her lips. She was oblivious to Jack moving about; to Aeron who was getting ever closer to her position or that Gwen was finally regaining some stability as she sat up, having heaved the last bit of nausea out of her stomach. Light shimmered on the priestess' skin, racing up and down the markings that she had made with the sacred paint that she had put on her body. A second set of markings began to glow on Andy's body, the Ogham letters blazing in amongst the Celtic knot work that was wending its way around his limbs and torso. She moved forward, adjusting to the imbalance of energies posed by the men in the circle. She could feel the resistance, but she was determined to finish the ritual despite their interference. She would not let these men stop her from her greatest achievement. It was her destiny, after all. She stepped forward again, ready to release the Thorns of Blodeuwedd. She could feel them quivering. They were alive, yearning to complete the ceremony that they had been designed for. Finally she was in place. She smiled in exultation and with the ritualistic phrase that she had said so many times before, she released the Thorns.

With a boom of thunder, a bolt of lightning reached down from the clouds above and stretched a finger into the casket on the ground. Aeron instinctively reached up to protect his ears from the sound, momentarily deafened by the blast. He looked about and saw that Jack was free and moving purposely towards the very box where the lightning had struck. He had to give the man credit. Jack was fearless.

Jack saw that Deryn was ready to move. So was he. As she pointed a finger and shouted the words, he stepped in between the box and the man behind him who was pinned to the stone. His timing was impeccable because as the last syllable left her mouth, the contents of the casket rose up en masse and headed straight towards him. Aeron stared in shock as the thorns embedded themselves into Jack. Both Deryn and Jack screamed, one from frustration and the other from the agony of being attacked by a multitude of sharp thorns which cut through his clothing and into his skin. On the other side of the circle Aeron could see Ianto with a hand outstretched in Jack's direction. He bit off the cry and swayed on his feet, but remained standing.

'Stop this now, Hussey. We will not allow you to do this,' Jack said. Because he had interrupted the path of the thorns there was no pattern to where they hit him as he was closer than their intended target. Instead, they had clumped into his torso. His face was filled with pain, but also with determination. 'This has to end.'

'No!' Deryn cried. Every step along the way she was being thwarted with her goal in sight. She couldn't let them stop her. If she had to do the sacrifice herself without the Thorns, she would. The goddesses would appreciate her effort. She moved forward, towards Jack, whose chest was heaving with the pain he felt, blood trickling down his clothes.

'Stop,' another male voice commanded and Deryn spun around in shock. A young man stood not too far away and to her he absolutely glowed with power. He had a hand out to prevent her from closing the gap between herself, Jack and the stone. He had been standing outside the circle but with that word of power he had stepped over the line, further disrupting the balance of energies. As he moved across the circle, the area around him became calm, the grass no longer moving and the whirling debris didn't touch him. He was somehow warded against her power.

'No,' she said again, but this time with far less confidence than she had earlier. This man knew the ancient ways. He felt familiar and a moment later she recognised his psychic signature. He was the one who had shut down her other circles. Had cut her power down and had weakened her for this ceremony. He was the enemy. 'I will not.'

Ianto took another step, banishing the circle snare that had been set into the ground nearby. It faded away, the lines disappearing into the darkness of the dirt. His face was calm and he smiled sadly, shaking his head. 'You will. Already we have taken two of your acolytes. We have disrupted the ceremony. You cannot continue and succeed.'

'I can,' Deryn responded stubbornly. She was another step closer to Jack. He would be her first sacrifice of the evening, and to appease the goddesses she would kill each of the men who defiled the sacred ground in turn. She fingered the knife at her belt. While it would be better to castrate the man before her, she was sure that the goddesses wouldn't mind if she just slit his throat. After all, he had been anointed by the Thorns. Their drugs were now in his bloodstream. He would make a beautiful sacrifice this evening.

Aeron moved into position behind her. He looked over her shoulder and met Jack's eyes. The man didn't acknowledge his presence, not wanting to give anything away to the woman between them. Aeron didn't know how Jack was still standing after what had happened. It must be adrenaline, because Aeron couldn't figure out what else would keep the man upright. He would act when she raised the glass knife in her hand. He waited, ready to move.

Ianto began chanting a counter spell. Deryn cried out as light flared overhead, parting the clouds above them. In the next moment she pounced, lifting the dagger and moving to slice Jack's throat with it. Aeron moved, knocking her arm, but thought that he had reacted too late. There was certainly blood spraying and he heard a cry as he brought Deryn down to the ground. He landed on top of her and twisted her wrist, forcing her to release the blade in the process.

By this time Gwen had regained her feet and had moved around the circle to where Andy swayed, held in place by two women who were staring around dazedly, unsure of what to do now that the ceremony had been disrupted. She used the butt of her gun to knock the first one out and dragged on Andy's arm to pull him away from the other one. Two of the other women had collapsed on the ground, out cold. That left four others that she couldn't account for. Gwen looked around, but didn't see them. Perhaps they had broken and run. She couldn't worry about that as Andy collapsed against her, a dead weight in her arms.

'Andy?' She called, slapping his face in an attempt to get him to wake up more fully. 'Andy, can you hear me?' She didn't get a response and his weight was bearing her downwards. Just as she began to collapse under him, someone helped her. Looking around, she saw Edmund Sorles supporting Andy from the other side. She nodded gratefully and the two of them dragged Andy's limp body away from the stone as far as they could. When they were away from the battle, she knelt down next to Andy and checked him for injuries. He had been bound with some sort of vine with thorns. Taking a knife out of her boot, she cut them off rather than trying to untangle them, knowing that each of the thorns probably had some hallucinogenic properties. DI Sorles checked his pulse and nodded silently to her. Andy would be okay. Well, okay if Jack and Ianto were able to stop the cult, that is. Gwen turned to watch what was going on.

Ianto was moving forward, hands out to either side as he chanted the counter spell which would disrupt and dismantle the Adoliat's ceremony. Jack had collapsed to his knees and had propped himself on one arm, trying to focus on where Deryn was struggling with Aeron. Blood was pouring down his other arm which he cradled against his chest. With an effort, he began plucking the thorns out, breathing raggedly as he did so.

At the south edge of the circle DI Tom Drake was struggling with two women, trying to subdue them. One had clawed his face and he had streaks of blood coating his cheek where she had scratched him. He had one foot on the other one's back, effectively restraining her face down on the ground. The first one clung to his back, screaming like a banshee as she sought to bring him down.

'Watch him,' Gwen told Edmund. She kept her knife in one hand while she hefted her gun in the other and made her way around the circle to assist Tom Drake. She left the rest as they were, because she had seen the missing two acolytes stalking the tall detective. A glint in the darkness told Gwen that they had at least one knife. She intended to stop them before they could hurt the man.

Ianto kicked the ceremonial glass dagger out of range of Deryn's questing hand. It spun across the clearing and hit the Cwen stone with the sound of ringing metal before dropping at the base. He knelt down between her and Jack and began to chant, working to reverse all that she had done so far. He was counting on Aeron to restrain her enough to stop her from getting free and continuing on with her sacrifices. She screeched, the sound piercing through the howling wind. She could feel it all slipping away as the man before her spoke, undoing her working.

Unlike the times before, he didn't have the chance to set the wards around the circle. There was no glowing dome to protect those outside of the working. He was working from instinct, battling to overcome the malevolent forces which were fighting his every word. He could see branches breaking off from somewhere and slashing through the air to slam against anyone who was still upright. He felt the sting of something cutting his face. Small stones whipped around him in a whirlwind, spinning about and pelting against him as if someone were trying to distract him. He ignored those as well, and concentrated on what he needed to get done.

When Deryn started screaming and shouting, Aeron James pulled a part of her dress up and shoved it into her mouth, effectively shutting her up. She struggled, wildly twisting and fighting his restraints, but he outweighed her by about four stone and so was able contain her now that she was face down on the ground. She bucked and tried to throw him off, but was unable to budge him. She stared in fury at Ianto, hate filling her dark eyes.

The tide of forces began to change in their favor. Light shone through the hole in the center of the storm clouds above. It illuminated a small circle that encompassed the struggle below. Ianto swayed with the effort of the fight. He was beyond exhausted, but still he continued. Stopping wasn't an option at this point. He faltered in his chant and for a moment it seemed like the light from above dimmed.

Jack reached out a trembling hand, ignoring the blood dripping from his arm and gripped Ianto's shoulder to lend him strength. He closed his eyes and bowed his head, giving all of his energy over for Ianto's use. Again he sought out that connection between them, willing the pathway to open fully. The Adoliat had to be stopped.

Ianto steadied under Jack's hand, gratefully leaning on the strength of the man behind him. He renewed his efforts and the clouds continued to disperse above them. Deryn cried out in anguish, prevented from stopping him by the men who had effectively interrupted her ritual. She tried called out to the younger women who had accompanied her, begging them to come to her assistance, but she heard no answer to her cries, which were muffled by the cloth stuffed into her mouth. She tried to reach the man who was kneeling next to her in an attempt to disrupt what he was doing, but was prevented from doing so by the other man who held her pinned to the ground. Ianto repeated the phrases he had said several times before in the last week or so and the further he got, the less resistance he felt to the words he spoke.

Aeron looked up. While the clouds had dispersed, they had thickened into a ring that kept on circling above them. They darkened as they condensed further and began to funnel downwards towards the group in the center of the circle. He wasn't sure what was happening, but he had a feeling he wasn't going to like whatever it was.

'Jack,' he called. Jack had his eyes closed and his face was pale, but at Aeron's repeated cry, he opened them again. He blearily focused on Aeron's face and after a moment of incomprehension, followed Aeron's finger upwards. Lightning cracked in the ominous cloud and Jack gaped for a moment as it took him a moment to comprehend what he was seeing. He glanced away, feeling even more sick than he had before. There was something about the swirling mass that felt evil. He knew that Ianto was containing the working, but he wondered if this was its way of getting around what he was doing. Jack closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against Ianto's back, pouring the last of his strength into the other man with his will.

Ianto was almost through with the incantation, but still the wind whipped around him and he was assaulted by the elements. He was buffeted by the gale force winds. He stayed upright, hand extended towards Deryn, working to remove the layer upon layer of spells that she had wrapped around herself for the express purpose of raising the goddesses. He was oblivious to the man straddling her who was frantically trying to get the Torchwood operative's attention. But he was aware of some instinct which urged him to look upwards. It felt like Jack calling to him, but Jack's voice was a reedy whisper, barely audible above the wind that assaulted his ears. Jack sounded weak and Ianto felt a flicker of concern, but he knew he couldn't lose his focus. Still, he glanced upwards, something telling him of the danger from above.

What he saw nearly shattered his attention. For the swirling clouds above them formed a face, the opening in the middle a maw held wide, seeking to swallow them whole. He caught a glimpse of enraged eyes, the lightning flashing furiously in what looked like anger. He realised he was witnessing a manifestation of one of the goddesses. Somehow Deryn had succeeded in opening the portal between the past doorway of legends and the present of today. The goddess was seeking a foothold on this side of the world and she wasn't going to let him stop her.

But stop her he would, he vowed silently. He closed his eyes, ignoring the being bearing down on them and began to pray. He prayed like he had never done before, a mix of the ancient Welsh mixing in with modern words and he called for that being who had helped him before. Whether Jack had been right and it was an alien or whether it was truly a heavenly being at this point Ianto didn't really care, but he needed its help.

Gwen and Tom Drake had finally subdued the last of the acolytes, Tom using his belt to secure the young woman who struggled wildly to get free. She sat back and sighed tiredly, pausing in mid motion. She looked around.

'What happened to the wind?' Tom Drake asked. They had been so used to hearing it during the battle that its absence was eerie. It was dead silent, with not a sound to be heard anywhere. None of the normal signs of life in the country could be heard, and even the crushed grass below them didn't make a sound as they moved.

Gwen turned towards the center of the circle and stared. There was a column of light not too far from the standing stone. The others were nowhere to be seen and she knew that they were all inside the glowing circle. The battle must have been raging on, but if so, it was contained within the small circle that had previously marked Jack's magical cage. Had the Adoliat gained control again? She hoped not, because if it were true, then they'd all be dead soon. She pushed up off the ground and staggered to her feet.

'Move!' She cried. She stumbled around the column, shying away from the feeling of heat it exuded. It hurt to look in that direction, the pulsing white blazing light making her nauseous again. 'Get everyone out of the circle!'

Edmund Sorles nodded and started dragging Andy's limp form away from the stone, moving him far enough away that he was soon hidden by the barley. He came back a moment later and began dragging the women out of the way as well. Gwen knocked the struggling girl at her feet out with her gun and then she and Tom carried the woman and her companions back to where Tom had secured the first acolyte earlier that evening. She was unconscious, but moaning. Perhaps it was in response to what was going on in the circle by the stone. Gwen hoped that Ianto was going to be able to prevail, but she had seen what had happened to Jack. Ianto's support had been compromised and without Jack to lean on she didn't know if he could win the battle. She hoped she was wrong.

One by one they moved each of the younger women out of the circle until they were all free and clear. Gwen made her way around to where Andy lay. He was moaning as well, but the lurid lines of light had faded from his body. At least he was safe. She pulled off her leather jacket, wincing at the multitude of aches and pains that her body felt as she did so. Then she used it to cover Andy, mindful of his nudity and his embarrassment once this was over and he became aware of his state of undress.

The stalks of barley parted and Tom stepped through. It was strange as the undergrowth didn't make a sound. It was as if all of the ambient sound had been sucked out of the area. He squatted down next to Andy's prone body and looked up at Gwen.

'What now?' He asked, breaking the silence. Edmund holstered his gun. There was no one to use it on and he wanted his hands free. Gwen sighed softly and looked back at the clearing.

'Now we wait for the outcome of the battle,' she replied, shading her eyes as she looked up the column to the night beyond. There wasn't a cloud to be seen. She turned and looked around her. It was a clear night sky and all the stars of the heaven were above them. She gaped and turned back towards the column of light. Was that the being that had assisted them before? And would it prevail again, or would she lose Jack and Ianto in the process? She remembered the heat she had felt when she had passed the column and wondered how anyone inside could survive. Even Jack would be burnt to a crisp. She closed her eyes, not wanting to imagine that possibility.

No, she wouldn't think of it, she vowed. Jack and Ianto were going to be fine, as was Aeron. They had to be. They were on the side of right, and that had to count for something, she promised herself. Still, she thought it worth sending a prayer in whomever's direction to keep the men she loved safe from harm. She knelt down on the ground, the crushed barley grains not making a sound under her knees, bowed her head and prayed.

A short time later a sound that felt like a sonic boom shattered the silence and Gwen looked up in alarm. The column of light shattered, white light raining down from above like specks from a holiday sparkler. She shielded her head with her arms, the men echoing her actions. A moment later she glanced up, but the glowing specks were gone. Her ears were ringing. She stood shakily and looked around. The whole field was level, the barley bent over as if flattened by a giant hand. She saw several lumps under the bent growth and identified them a moment later as the place where Tom had brought the women to protect them from what was going on. Gwen's ears were buzzing and her head ached, but she forced herself to turn again and head towards the middle of the clearing. Several bodies lay on the ground and she bit her lip as she saw the way they were sprawled together.

'Please God, let them be alright,' she murmured as she hastily picked her way across the now empty field. Somewhere off in the distance it sounded like a car alarm had been triggered by the blast. She ignored that as well as the questions from the men behind her as she struggled to get to where her friends lay. It was clearly the center of the blast, and she hoped that they had survived whatever had happened.

'Ianto? Jack?' She called out as she got closer. She could have sworn someone stirred, but the way they were entangled together she didn't know which one had moved. 'Ianto?'

'Here,' a hoarse voice replied and Gwen nearly staggered with relief at hearing Ianto's voice. She knew Jack would return no matter what happened. But Ianto... she shook her head, not wanting to even voice internally the thought she couldn't bear. It was too soon to lose someone else. Hearing him gave her strength and she forced herself over to where she thought he lay, falling to her knees before she fell down altogether. Someone groaned and a moment later she realized she was hearing Aeron James stir. She reached out and touched his hand.

'Aeron, its Gwen. Be still and we'll sort you out. Don't move in case you've been hurt,' she told him. After patting his shoulder, she turned in the direction of Ianto. Jack was crumpled behind him and hadn't moved. She couldn't spend any time on him and so focused on Ianto. She leaned over and brushed the debris out of his face. 'Ianto, can you hear me?'

'Yeah,' the other man replied faintly. 'Give me a moment, yeah?' Gwen nodded even though she knew he couldn't see her. But her heart lightened at the sound of his voice. She looked up to see Edmund and Tom making their way towards her. Off in the distance was the sound of sirens, and she knew that the locals would soon be here.

The sound of Ianto groaning as he rolled over brought her attention back in his direction. He looked like hell; his face scratched, his clothing torn and he was ashen from the effort of fighting the Adoliat. He stared up at her for a moment before closing his eyes again.

'Are you hurt?' She asked him. He tried to shake his head but went pale with the effort. 'Don't move. Help is on the way. You did it.'

'Yeah,' he said softly. Behind her she could hear Edmund and Tom helping Aeron. They had all survived. She closed her eyes and sent a prayer of thanks upwards before tending to Ianto. The sounds of sirens and horns were getting louder. 'It's done,' Ianto said.

'It is, finally,' Gwen said with a nod. She helped him to sit up and supported him by letting him lean against her. A moment later she heard a gasp and knew that Jack was back as well. Thankfully the others hadn't noticed as they were too busy helping Aeron and securing the cult leader Deryn Hussey. Jack sat up and looked around.

'Wow,' was his only comment. Gwen nodded in agreement. Wow, indeed. She reached out and gripped Jack's shoulder for a moment before taking a strip from her shirt and wrapping his arm. The cut was long gone, but at least no one would ask about it since it looked like it had already been bandaged. He smiled tiredly at her before turning his attention towards Ianto. After making sure he was okay, Jack pushed himself up from the ground, readying himself to deal with the local constabulary. Tom Drake joined him and the two men moved off in the direction of the access road, ready to fend off the locals.


	25. Chapter 25

The cleanup work took most of the early morning hours, with Jack having to pull rank on the locals to get things done. Cardiff CID took control of the cult, claiming jurisdiction in regards to the previous murders that had taken place. Gwen handled the irate farmer who stood off to one side moaning about the damage to his barley. Ianto continued to clean up evidence, and ignored the local constables who milled around aimlessly.

By the time the South Wales police had loaded the cult into their Rover along with the vehicles of the local constabulary, Andy was conscious. He was terribly embarrassed by his state of undress and wasn't too happy when Gwen told him his clothes were nowhere to be found. Jack loaned him the ripped, torn and bloodied greatcoat since it covered more than Gwen's leather jacket could. Together he and Gwen got Andy to the SUV and bundled into the back seat. He was still feeling the after effects of the drugs he had been given and had little memory of what had happened that evening.

When Jack returned to the area of the stone, Ianto and Aeron were finishing up with the locals. He smiled in satisfaction. They had a new ally with the DCI after this adventure, he knew. Soon the farmer and the local PC left, ushered out of the field by Sorles and Drake and it was back to just them.

'What the hell happened tonight?' Aeron James asked no one in particular.

'Hell tried to break loose?' Jack had his hands on his hips, oblivious to the red stain in the middle of his shirt and the tear where Deryn's dagger had slashed his upper arm. From where Aeron was standing, there was no sign of any wounds on the other man. He shook his head in wonder.

'Doesn't that hurt?' He asked, gesturing towards Jack. Jack looked down in surprise as if noticing the damage for the first time.

'Oh, my coat stopped most of it. This isn't blood,' he dissembled, though Aeron had been close enough when restraining Deryn to know blood pumping out of a wound when he saw it. 'That's the dye from those thorns.' Gwen turned away to hide a smile. Ianto was over by the stone, still cleaning up the stuff that the Adoliat had left behind during the ceremony. She watched as he leaned against the stone for a moment before straightening fully and heading back in their direction.

Jack used Ianto's approach as an excuse to turn away from the Cardiff DCI. 'All set?'

Ianto nodded, folding over the top of a rucksack he was carrying. 'Yeah, that's the last of it. Anything left behind won't mean much to anyone as I've got all of the important stuff right here,' he said as he patted the bag over his shoulder. "And if I never have to say another word of old or middle Welsh again, I'll be grateful." Jack smiled in response. They had done well that evening and had finally stopped the Adoliat permanently. He felt a sense of satisfaction for a job well done.

'Okay then, time to head back,' Jack said. He turned to Aeron. 'It's probably best if you head back with your prisoners. We'll stop back at the cottage and get our gear before heading back to town.'

'You'll watch over Andy Davidson?' Aeron asked. Gwen nodded.

'Absolutely. We need to make sure that the drugs get out of his system, so we'll keep an eye on him,' Gwen said. 'Don't worry, Aeron. I'll personally make sure that he gets the best care.' Aeron stared at her in the light of their headlights. She was so different from the woman he had known a few short years ago on the force. He nodded his head.

'Thanks. I'll also need statements from you as well,' he said, looking between Gwen, Ianto and Jack. Jack told him they'd stop by in the next couple of days and get that to him. Gwen hid a smile, knowing that whatever they did end up sharing with the CID would probably raise more questions than it answered. Aeron bid them farewell and headed off to his Rover. They had also commandeered the transit van and Edmund Sorles would drive the rest of the prisoners back to Cardiff in that. Gwen was amused to see that several of them had been gagged so at least it would be a somewhat quiet ride for Sorles, though perhaps not, she thought as she listened to one of them kicking the side panels of the idling transit van.

The Torchwood team stood and listened as the sounds of the engines faded away into the night. Jack looked up at the clear night sky. The stars twinkled above them.

'I swear this is the only thing I like about the country,' he muttered as he stared up at the stars. Ianto followed his glance upwards and chuckled softly.

'You certainly don't get this kind of view in the city with all the ambient light, but then you also don't have roofs to prowl out there, either,' he commented. 'If I don't leave the city for a long while, I'll be happy after this.'

'Well, it's not like we went camping again,' Gwen replied, earning a glare of annoyance from her teammate. 'And we're not in the Beacons this time.'

'And we don't have the locals trying to eat us,' Jack said as they began to pick their way across the crushed barley, using the headlights from the SUV to light their way. 'There's something to be said about that.'

'Mmmm,' Ianto replied noncommittally. 'No, just ancient goddesses who want their acolytes to castrate the men of the world and kill them on top of old rocks. I can see where that would be much better than a couple of cannibals.' He could see Jack shrug as they walked together.

'You two,' Gwen said with a laugh as she reached the SUV and opened the rear door to get in. 'You make me laugh.' Jack grinned at her. He stretched, reaching up towards the sky.

'We did good,' he commented. 'No one died tonight. I'll count that as a win.' Ianto nodded. They had come close and he almost wanted to correct Jack on his comment, but let it lie. Someone had died this evening, but if it had to be one of them, at least it was Jack who could come back to them. He climbed into the passenger seat, sighing with relief that the night was over. Jack got into the driver's side and Ianto handed him the spare set of keys. Jack's were still in his coat pocket which was with Andy, who was asleep in the back. He started the engine and listened to the purr of the engine a moment before pulling the SUV in a wide circle to head back down the access road.

'You know, we still have another day paid on the cottage,' Jack said with a sidelong look towards Ianto. Gwen laughed softly as she looked out the window and listened to them banter with one another in the front seat. Andy was slumbering beside her, wrapped in one of the SUV blankets they had in the back and exhausted from the events of the night. She leaned her head back against the headrest, weary to the bone. She felt a deep longing for her bed with Rhys warm and cozily spooned against her. It felt like ages since she had had a decent lie in, and she was determined to vote for heading home and to her own bed with her gorgeous husband.

The images outside the SUV window blurred and she closed her eyes to block it out. From the front seat she could hear Jack and Ianto talking. Ianto was debating whether it was better to spend the night at the cottage and let them all rest or to go back home. Jack was obviously opting for the former. Her ears perked up at the reference to one of Ianto's neighbors and her rather odd behavior the last time that Ianto had seen her. While he speculated that something was wrong, Jack was oddly silent. Gwen opened her eyes, her senses attuned something off in Jack's response. She stared at his profile from the back seat, trying to guess what it was that he wasn't saying in response to Ianto's comment.

A moment later, she just shook her head. Whatever it was, it wasn't anything to do with her. Still, she resolved to mention her intuitive feeling to Ianto later. She smiled to herself and closed her eyes again, knowing she could at least relax. Things were back to normal. Or as normal as it ever got with Torchwood. She sat back, satisfied.

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 _(Author's note: Thank you for reading this story, I hope you enjoyed it. The mythology depicted in this story is based on the stories of the Mabinogion, and the Middle Welsh used in the early chapters was translated by a gracious graduate student at Aberstwyth University. Many thanks to everyone who helped with my research on this novel and if you've enjoyed it, please leave a review and pass the link to it to your friends. Tylluan)_


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